The Goddess of Souls
by pclark
Summary: It is the stupid Tama's fault. One second she is done and ready to go home and the next, Buddha has placed right in her lap the Goddess of Souls title! Why? Then poor Kagome is in charge of the whole Seretei and it's crazy occupants, her only solace from her title is one Captain.
1. AUTHORS NOTE!

AUTHORS NOTE!

Everyone has sent requests for both me (pclark / angel) and mom (pclark / penny) to write a joint fic.

Well here it is. We have both brought to you this Byakuya/Kagome fic. So here it is... The Goddess of Souls.

Tell us what you think and also we will only update once a month.

We're also working on the hiatus fics, requested fics, and pclark (penny) is writing another one, The Immortal Miko, it may make an appearance shortly about late spring.

Also she's homeschooling my youngest sister and I have work, (i'm barely home.)

AND... This fic is big time for Aubrey-Simone. 


	2. Chapter 1 - Title of Kami

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.

AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone.

Kagome was sure how it had happened but was unsure what she had done exactly to deserve the title the Kami had bestowed upon her. Her guess was her work with the Shikon but didn't know why that was such a formidable feat to earn her the title; Goddess of Souls. Her job was now to comfort the dying and she was over the Shinigami. She did her job and did it well.

Now because she was a Goddess, she could do almost anything she wished, but she still sought permission from Buddha just in case. Like for instance, she opened a time warp to allow future shinigami to come to the past to retrieve souls. As such was much better in her opinion than the little messengers and everyone going to the underworld because the shinigami hadn't been seperated from hell as of then. She was still in the works of negotiating with the God of the Underworld to release them early from his work and allow her to use them for hers. She just wasn't there yet but since she knew the future better than anyone she knew they would be hers eventually. She had seen them.

They would make her job easier when she could have them and that is why she opened the portal to the past for the shinigami. She also did it because when her friends died she wouldn't be able to keep herself together to take them to the otherside. She found that out the hard way when Kaede was sick and wouldn't be able to recover. She was a mess and almost inconsolable.

Kagome had went before Buddha and pleaded with him to open a portal for them to come to the past and help her with the dying. She was so sure that he was going to say no but the way she put on the sad little pout and had the tears shining in her eyes, he had given in. He hadn't opened the portal to her future, but to her time period but not the same plane. It was a start atleast and he had placed it in the home of the Shinigami after the God of the Underworld had released them. He had made it clear to her that for the shinigami to open the portal all they had to do was use the Hell Butterfly.

The Soul Society was what it was called. Kagome walked through the streets of the Seretei; completely invisible to everyone around her. She was looking for someone, the man in charge. She soon found him. He was a very old man with white hair and a really long white beard and mustache. He looked very sweet to her but she could feel the gifts that he held and that he was not a man to be trifled with.

She waited for him to be alone, which didn't take long with him giving orders, and she made her presence known. The old man wasn't startled by her sudden appearance, in which she was very thankful. He had bowed to her and everything even with her protesting such honors. She had then introduced herself and he did the same. They then spoke about what Kagome needed for them to do and he agreed to her request.

He then had sent what was called a Hell Butterfly to round up his Captains and their Lieutenants to come for a meeting. As he waited for their arrival Kagome informed him that she couldn't stay, for she had to return to comfort the dying and that the Hell Butterfly would open the portal for them. He told her that he would relay everything and send someone after her immediately and then she disappeared.

She had returned to Buddha first to tell him of her success. He had told her that he knew that she would be successful before she even returned. She had rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. Buddha scowled at her and she grinned at him. Why had he made her a goddess? Oh yeah... because she was perfect for the job.

He had then began to tell her of a few men and women that she was to take in her service when the time was right. She had asked who but he didn't reveal them and she pouted. He told her that they would be her personal assistants and that he would tell her when she could get them and that she would have to give a few some attitude changes. She huffed and pouted. Why did she have to get the hard cases?

She stuck her tongue out at him and told him she was going, she had work to do. He scolded her as she took off. If he wasn't who he was, he would think that he had made a mistake but he knew that he hadn't. Kagome was absolutely perfect for the position and no-one could ever say otherwise, not even himself. No-one would be able to do the job better than she.

Her job as Goddess of Souls was never done. If she hadn't gotten the future reapers to help her she would never have any down time. There was always someone dying or there was several people dying at once. Even for a goddess that was a feat in itself, being in several places at once. But she was forever grateful to Buddha for allowing them to come to the past. She wouldn't have been able to do her job sanely when death had come for Sango.

She was beside herself inside as Sango lay dying. She was trying to comfort her sister-friend the best she could in the distraught state she was in as well as Miroku. Kagome knew that she wouldn't be able to take Sango to the afterlife when she passed; so she had sent a Hell Butterfly to General Yamamoto to let him know she needed one of the Shinigami for her own personal use.

When the Hell Butterfly returned, it came with a Shinigami. The Shinigami before her was a man. He looked to be about in his mid-teens and had white spiky hair and cerulean eyes, dressed similarly to the General. He was on the short side but seemed to be very serious. Then coming in behind him was a tall orange haired woman with a very large bust and was dressed similar to the boy only she didn't have the white over haori but she did have a pink obi.

The woman was about to speak and the only word she had gotten out was, "Captain" before the young man hushed her. They both noticed her staring at them and became silent and waited. Their wait didn't last long either. Sango passed peacefully, she had fallen asleep and had stopped breathing, her soul rising from her body.

Kagome steadied Miroku and had Inuyasha take him outside so she could do her work. Sango was looking around the room sadly. She was scared but was more sad than anything. The young man stepped towards her and Sango backed up from him. Kagome calmed her friend before hysterics came into play and someone got hurt. She assured Sango that they were there to take her to the afterlife but not to hell and Sango broke down, telling her to watch over Miroku and their children for her and she told her she would.

The young man let them say their good-byes and when they had finished, he approached Sango and tapped her forehead with the hilt of his zanpakto. A portal opened and Sango disappeared through it. The Captain and the woman were about to leave when Kagome asked them their names. The Captain answered her. He was Captain Toshiro Hitsuguya of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13 and the woman was his second in command, his Lieutenant. Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto was her name. Then Kagome introduced herself and was less than pleased with the immediate reaction of the two Shinigami bowing to her and apologizing all over themselves for not recognizing her from the beginning.

Kagome had told them firmly to never bow to her, ever. It was such a nuisance to have them showing her that amount of respect when she hadn't really earned it from them. Matsumoto remained silent and Captain Hitsuguya informed her that with the way she handled her friend was enough to show him the kind of woman she was and that was enough to earn respect. Kagome had smiled brightly at him and sent them on their way, she had to help Miroku deal with Sangos' passing.

As the years passed she had met those two same shinigami again as well as many others. When Miroku had died Captain Hitsuguya and Lieutenant Matsumoto had come for him. The shinigami that had come for Inuyasha was a memorable one. The orange haired substitute shinigami was just like Inuyasha. She had never thought to find someone as obstinate and vocal as her hanyou friend but she had been wrong. When Inuyasha died and even dead he still insulted and postured to Ichigo.

But in the end Ichigo won and sent the hanyou on his way to the Soul Society. A very small petite shinigami had come to check on him and when she found all that had happened she had fussed on Ichigo and then walloped him real good when she noticed Kagome. She knew who she was and was tripping all over herself to bow and apologize. Ichigo had did nothing but watch her blubbering all over the place but when he didn't have a spark of recognition as to whom she was the girl, Rukia Kuchiki, had knocked him over and was yelling out all sorts of knowledge about her being a goddess to him and saying that he needed to be more respectful of his betters.

By the time those two left Kagome was hoping that she wouldn't see them together again. They reminded her way too much of a younger her and Inuyasha. The frustration those two had, the attraction, was grating on her nerves. But Buddha seemed to like being a little cruel to her and every now and then they would pop up together as the hundreds of years went by.

But as it came closer and closer to her time she began to incorporate herself more and more into the Soul Society. Even though she did there was still many she had never met and several of the Captains and Lieutenants she had but there was still a couple. Like squads 4, 6,11, and 12 she had never met but really wanted to. Well she had met squad 6's previous Captain Kuchiki but not the newer one. But she had heard that he was quite the catch and seemed to be perfect but aloof. He sounded like Sesshomaru to her and that had her very interested.

She couldn't wait to meet them all. But Buddha didn't allow her to jump through time anymore, she had to be patient and wait for time to realign with her original time. And not just any time; it had to align to the very second she became a permanent part of the past. That drove her up the wall but gave her time to watch all her soon to be shinigami and make mental notes about them and notes about possible changes she was going to make about where some of them were at and what they did.

But first things first she was meeting each and every one of them.

AN: This is the first chapter. Read and Review. 


	3. Chapter 2 - Scope and Gather

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.**

**AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone.**

* * *

**Last Time: But first things first she was meeting each and every one of them.**

* * *

She did try meet each and every one of them first thing. The minute the times aligned she had set off straight for the soul society and had met with General Yamamoto. She requested an audience with the entire Gotei 13, every one that was a shinigami no matter what branch or level they were, she wanted to meet with them all. Even the councils and past shinigami that were retired or had become Vizards. Yeah she even knew about them.

He informed her that he would call a meeting but several of them were in a place called Hueco Mundo. They were fighting with the Espada and three renegade shinigami. He told her of Sousuke Aizen's betrayal. She had known about some of it but she didn't know that he had been manipulating souls that had gotten changed to hollows. When he mentioned that she about combusted! She was furious to say the least. How dare he!

She instructed him to postpone her meeting until it had all been sorted out and she had returned. Before he could utter a word to her she had disappeared and was going to Buddha.

Buddha was already waiting for her when she arrived before him. He was speaking to her before she had even made an utterance. He informed her to watch her shinigami handle themselves against the Espada and gather them when the shinigami triumphed over them; they were to be her own personal elite team of shinigami. He warned her again that one she would have to tame his mouth and one she would have to decide to keep or "dispose" of and a few others that would need to be whipped into shape. She was allowed to do with them what she will.

He informed her then to keep an eye on a certain female espada that had been injured and had no memory of who or what she was. She only had her loyal fraccion to help and protect her. Kagome had been silent, not asking for any clarity, and was on her way to Hueco Mundo to collect her team and study the shinigami she would rule over and protect.

In Hueco Mundo, Kagome found it to be such a desolate place for anyone or anything to be housed. She made a decision then to abolish Hueco Mundo from existance. Las Noches would no longer exist but in memories. Any that became the way the creatures were there, she was going to send to hell and have in line for reincarnation unless they were severly damaged souls that just needed freedom, then they would cease to exist.

Her first day there she studied the shinigami that had betrayed the Soul Society and quintessentially... her. Sousuke Aizen was insane and power hungry; thinking himself above all and should be supreme ruler and being. It made her blood boil. Then there was Kaname Tousen, the blind shinigami that thought Aizen was on level with Buddha himself. She had checked to see if Aizen was using the hypnotism of his on Tousen but he wasn't. The young blind man obviously lacking something in the mind that was keeping him from noticing that Aizen was a fiend and a manipulator. Gin on the other hand she found to be a completely different story.

She watched and followed him. When he was alone she found that he was in love with Lieutenant Matsumoto and was protecting her from Aizen and his cynical plots. She felt complete pity for him and vowed then to help him and save his heart and soul to reunite him with the bubbly lieutenant. She then focused her efforts on looking for the Espada, mainly the missing female and her fraccion.

It didn't take her long to find them. The fraccion were conversing to one another about avenging their Master Nelliel against two other espada, Szayel Apporo Grantz and Nnoitra Jiruga. A decision was made then to speak to the two and she did. She got the information she was seeking about the missing female, Nelliel Tu Odelschwank, now Nel. She learned that the espada, Nnoitra, has a hate on for women and it was mainly targetted at Nel. She was stronger than he, held a higher position, and she was more sophisticated. Also she whooped him in every sparring match they had ever had, leaving him almost dead sometimes and then she would turn her back and leave him there alive.

That hadn't went over well with him and he attacked her fraccion to get revenge on her. She loved her fraccion like they were her brothers. When she had found that he had ripped their masks off and almost killed them she had blown up at him and he had attacked her from behind, cracking her mask and giving her a severe head wound. Resulting in her turning into a child and losing all of her memories of everything. They had vowed then to protect her with their very lives and avenge her.  
Kagome had understood and told them she would be back for them. That she first had to do some extensive research on shinigami and espada.

It was really hard for her to watch as they tore each other apart. She longed to put a stop to it all then and there but wasn't allowed to, it wasn't the right time. The more and more she watched the more she understood about each of them. And was sad at some things she had found out.

She didn't understand how they couldn't see how much they were each alike. Well some could. The espada side was mainly being controlled by Aizen. Whatever Aizen said for them to do, they did, even with some of them hating his guts. They were afraid of him, so afraid that they didn't make a move on him, they even put on false respect whenever he was speaking to them. But just as soon as he was out of earshot their true colors for him were shown. They down right hated him with their very souls.

She studied each and every espada carefully and made her evaluation for what she was going to do with them. Every time one of her espada fell she was there to pick them up and whisk them away. That was how she lost her heart without even knowing it. She had come across a fight between a shinigami and the Septima Espada.

The Espada, Zommari Rureaux, was in a heated battle with Rukia Kuchiki and she was losing. But before he could kill her another shinigami interfered, a Captain. Kagome recognized him right off as being a Kuchiki and she recognized his scarf and kensaiken. He was the head of the family and he was gorgeous in her eyes. She didn't know his name but she was going to be finding out. It took everything she had to keep from interfering in the battle as she observed the two. But when the male shinigami had to sever his own tendons in his arm and leg, that had almost unglued her. Then Zommari tried to have Rukia kill herself, she liked the petite shinigami and had plans for her, she was hardpressed not to knock him out and let them go. Then the battle came to its closure. Zommari had had a hard life as a soul, she had observed from his hatred of shinigami, and had thought that the shinigami man was going to kill him just because he was an Espada.

She had too, but then the man had told him that it wasn't because he was an Espada that he was going to kill him but because he had dared to take a sword to his pride. She had almost gushed with emotion. He was talking about Rukia and it was so sweet. And as soon as they were gone, she collected Zommari and left.

After she collected all of her espada that had died, she collected Gin, she was going to bring him back for Matsumoto. Then she collected her espada and fraccion that had lived and gathered them all together. She had so many that she was going to just let go on to have peace and tranquility but there were several that had business that was unfinished and she needed with her.

She decided straight off that Barragan needed rest. She could tell that he was tired and she was going to send him on with all of his fraccion. They were just as tired as he was and just wanted the beauty that complete death brought to the soul. She decided that Yammy and Aaroniero just needed to go as well; they had been too devoted to Aizen to ever be of use for her but she was merciful to Yammy and had sent his dog, Kukkapuro, with him. Zommari had been sent on as well as several other lower espada. Many of them all just needed to go on into oblivion to find their peace and she wasn't going to begrudge them that. She turned then to the rest of her remaining espada.

Kagome first spoke to the ones that had been healed by the human girl, Orihime. She let them make the choice to either go on to the next level of death or be her elite shinigami. Harribel, Mila Rose, Apacci, and Sung-Sun discussed it between themselves and decided that they would be her elite shinigami. Kagome had smiled hugely and told them that they would be a team and Harribel would be team leader. They would be together like they had always been.

Slowly she brought back the ones that had died and explained things to them. Given them all the same choice she had given Harribel and her team. The ones that wanted to stay; stayed, and the others went on. When she had finished with them she went to the next ones, the ones she felt and found love in their souls for someone else that wasn't a friend.

The first on her list was Ulquiorra. He may of been the espada of emptiness but she had read his soul and the heart of Orihime. He was in love with the girl. She had seen the battle between him and Ichigo. She had seen the ending of that battle and how Orihime had charged him with the care of her heart. She brought him back and let him know up front that he would get his chance for Orihime. He had questioned her and she told him to wait until she had brought the others around.

Her next one wasn't dead but almost there. Grimmjow Jaegerjacques was a determined one, he wasn't going down without fighting with everything that he had. She had seen his battle and smiled as she watched. He reminded her of her long departed hanyou friend, even the mouth. She was going to fix that but first she had to heal him and put him with Nelliel. Even though he hadn't told her about Nel she knew and wasn't going to watch him love her from afar, especially with the way he was staring at the little child Nel. The saying was true... no matter what love looks like you will know yours. He may not of known fully but he had an inkling that the little child was his Nelliel.

She had then called Pesche and Dondochakka over to her with Nel. Dondochakka was holding Nel in his arms and she was staring at Kagome with awe. Kagome smiled brightly at her and asked if she would like to be herself again. Pesche began to protest but Kagome shushed him and took Nel from Dondochakka. She cradled her like she did Shippo when he was really small and smiled at her while she placed her hand on her rams head.

Nel told her she was pretty and she liked her. Kagome sat her on the ground and kneeled before her, keeping her hand on the rams head. She asked her again if she would like to be herself and Nel asked her what she meant. Kagome answered her; skirting a little around the whole truth for Pesche and Dondochakkas' sakes and a little for Grimmjow, who was glaring at the still dead Nnoitra. Kagome was glad that Nel was quite smart and understood what she had told her and accepted becoming her old self again after Kagome mentioned to her that someone was waiting for her.

Right before their eyes Kagome turned Nel back into her previous self, back into Nelliel with all of her memories. Kagome hadn't seen the fight between Nnoitra and Nelliel; she had been collecting Szayel Apporo after he had lost to the Shinigami, Mayuri, so she wasn't prepared for the way Nelliels' clothes fit her so snugly and barely covering anything. At that point she was too busy watching Grimmjow drool and Nelliel's fraccion glare at him. She also wasn't prepared for the woman to be so strong. Nelliel had looked over herself the best she could without a mirror and then she pounced on Kagome, hugging her tightly and sputtering thank you's. Kagome hadn't felt a hug that tight in her life! She felt her bones move and pop and she had to tell Nel to let go. Nel had and was very sheepish about her behavior. It was odd for her to be so improper and uncomposed and certainly odd for her to be so scantily clad.

Kagome had felt her embarrassment of being nearly nude in the presence of so many people, especially when Grimmjow looked like he was about to pounce on her. Kagome assured her that she would get some new clothes but she first had to deal with the Quinta Espada. Nelliel had looked around for Nnoitra and when she found him dead she asked Kagome if she was going to bring him back. Kagome told her she was but she had a special punishment in store for the woman hater. The smile Nelliel had cross her face had sent chills up all of their spines but it also gave a little something "extra" to a certain Pantera.

Kagome had then brought Nnoitra back. When the quinta espada opened his eyes the first thing he saw was angry sea-green eyes and green hair. His uncovered eye widened in shock at the sight of Nelliel when she backed away from him. She was back to her former glory and it was pissing him off. Before he could even move to make a strike against her, Kagome addressed him. When he looked at her a sneer had come to his face and he was very rude when he spoke to her. She could feel the contempt and loathing directed at her because she was a woman and she had power. It had her counting down backwards in her head to keep herself from just destroying him since she had a wonderful plan for him.

Her plan was genius! Nelliel thought so as well when it had ended. Kagome had placed Nnoitra in the hands of a very powerful and strong woman. Someone he would never be able to get away from, never be able to harm, never have a hope of ever getting to her level of power and control; never be able to keep her away from him either.

The Gatekeeper of Hell, former Lady of the Western Lands, esteemed mother of Lord Sesshomaru; Midori, had been delighted to take him off her hands. She had wanted Grimmjow but Kagome told her that she needed him and that Nnoitra was in need of the firm hand of a woman. Midori had known immediately what that had meant and had made the comment that she needed a new... pet and that he would do. The Espada all had seen the evil glint in her eyes and the smile that could've frozen Hell had the gates been open and it scared them but not a one pitied the fate that had been dealt to the quinta espada.

As soon as Nnoitras' fate had been settled and Kagome returned to assigning her team, she had noticed the nervousness of Szayel. She questioned him about it and of course being male he tried to get her to not worry about it, but she did anyways and had him telling her what was going on in his head. He thought that he was going to be punished for his part in Nelliels fall. Kagome had let him know then that death had been punishment enough and that she had a job for him and that he was going to like it. She did tell him though, while she thought death was punishment enough that Nelliel might of not thought so. He needed to get forgivness from her. He had stayed silent for several minutes when he just blurted it out. They found that Nelliel had thought on the same lines as Kagome and she forgave him and warned him if there was ever an attempted repeat she would kill him without a moments hesitance.

With that all said and done, assignments made, and most explinations done; Kagome announced to them that they would be going to the Soul Society and she would be taking her rightful place there with them with her. But first she had to get Nelliel some new clothes. She then sent a Hell Butterfly to General Yamamoto about her arrival.

* * *

**AN: Yeesh! Really long chapter! Anyways this chapter and the previous was more of explination chapters with no dialogue but the next chapter as well as the ones after will have dialogue as they will be the main story line.**


	4. Chapter 3 - Reunite the Family

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.**

**AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone.**

* * *

**Last Time: With that all said and done, assignments made, and most explinations done; Kagome announced to them that they would be going to the Soul Society and she would be taking her rightful place there with them with her. But first she had to get Nelliel some new clothes. She then sent a Hell Butterfly to General Yamamoto about her arrival.**

* * *

General Yamamoto was reading over reports from his Captains about their own battles with the Espada and the traitors when a Hell Butterfly came fluttering into the room. He held his hand up and it landed on the side of his hand and it began to speak.

_"General Yamamoto, I will be arriving shortly with my team. Please have the Captains, the Lieutenants, Urahara, Yoruichi, Miss Kuchiki, Ichigo, and their human friends gathered for a meeting. I will heal them if they are injured but have them there anyway."_ Kagome's voice said firmly from the butterfly.

Yamamoto sighed lightly and gave the butterfly new instructions and sent it on its way to relay the little goddess's orders.

Kagome, the espada, and Gin arrived in the Soul Society just seconds after everyone that had been called for the meeting had entered into the Squad 1 barracks. Knowing the uproar that would ensue if any of them were seen, Kagome shielded them as well as herself as they traveled through the Seretei to General Yamamoto.

Upon their arrival Kagome had them wait outside the door until she allowed them to enter. Shielding them, she went in. Every gaze locked on to her as she entered the room, the only sound was the clinking of the anklets she wore with her new outfit.

**(AN: Think Jasmine from Aladdin, only white with gold trim, and no shoes; just bangles.)**

"General I presume everyone is here." she stated confidently.

"Yes, my lady they are." he answered and was about to bow to her.

"Thank you General but none of that please. I do not require such honors. I may be a goddess but I don't require nor do I want someone bowing to me." she instructed and then sweatdropped.

She looked around the room to find everyone bowing and the injured trying to show her respect the best they could in their invalid states.

"That is enough! All of you get up. We have some work to do. I am here to be among you and to make some reassignments. If you please General, may I stand beside you?" she said.

"You need not ask." he replied and she came to stand beside him.

"I know that what I am about to do will upset some of you but it is for the best. I do hope you undestand. Now on to business." she said and moved about the room.

She went to each and every one of the injured. She healed them just by touching them and had them on their feet again. While she had been doing that she met Captain Unohana of Squad 4 and had a brief chat with the quiet woman. She found Rukia among the injured with Captain Kuchiki of Squad 6. Now that she got an up close look at him she had forgot to breathe for a moment. She had snapped herself back to reality before she thought anyone had noticed and healed Rukia.

Rukia thanked her and introduced her to her brother, Byakuya. That had been a surprise for Kagome. She had thought that they had been married but it was a happy surprise for her, she didn't understand why though. After she had finished checking on everyone she made her reassignments.

"First off, Rukia Kuchiki, you are no longer a part of Squad 13. You will be taking a place at the academy. Your knowledge is impeccable and the academy needs someone of your caliber." she explained.

That had knocked the socks off some of them. Rukia included and she was happy about it. But the only reaction she wanted to see was Byakuyas'. She had watched his face the entire time. She had seen the miniscule of dread creep into his eyes when she called Rukia and then the relief that swept over him when she pulled her from the field before he recomposed his mask of indifference. It made her smile, he was like Sesshomaru, yet he was sad.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you are not a substitute anymore. You are part time as you have school. I have a delicate and special assignment for you. I know of the child souls you comfort; you are henceforth to care and protect the souls of children and bring them here." Kagome told him.

He nodded but didn't say anything. He was too tired to. Not that he didn't like his new position, cause he did, he was just fatigue from fighting the espada.

"Now Captain Soi Fon I am pulling you from Squad 2 and replacing you with Yoruichi Shihoin. You will be Captain of the Punishment Force only and you may take your Lieutenant with you. Urahara will be taking command of Squad 5. Tessai Tsukabishi will return to the Kido Corps as Grand Kido Captain. Shuhei Hisagi will take full control and be captain of Squad 9. General Yamamoto, will be my right hand and advisor. As well as continuing to be overall General but no longer will he be captain of Squad 1, his place will be taken by Chojiro Sasakibe." Kagome announced.

There was silence among the ranks but then a man stepped forward. Everyone was very silent, his team had yet to recieve their fate.

"My lady, what of Squad 3?" he asked.

"Lieutenant Kira, Squad 3 is fine. Captain Gin Ichimaru will be returning to his post." she said.

There was an explosion of questions. She answered none though as she made her way back to the doors and pushed them open.

"Allow me to introduce my team and the return of Captain Ichimaru." she said and the "dead" came walking in.

"What the hell is this? Why are they here? My Lady what is the meaning of this?" were some of the questions that were being thrown her way as the espada and Gin came into the room.

Kagome ignored them all and proceeded to lead them further into the room. The only comment she made to the shinigami was to sheath their swords and be silent, while to the espada was to play nice when she was through assigning them amongst the ranks, if she did.

"Now, here comes the part where some of you may be angry at me." she stated with a smile.

She scanned around the room to see their expressions. Some were shock, some were insulted, some were outraged, while others had no feeling whatsoever about them being there; but then there was a certain face she hoped to see happy but didn't. Orihime was leaned against one of the walls behind the shinigami asleep with a pink haired little girl in her lap sleeping as well. She looked exhausted with the dark circles under her eyes.

"The espada are my elite team. Several of you had killed them or severly wounded them. I healed them and brought them back. They are not to be looked at as the enemy and Captain Ichimaru was never a traitor. As such Captain Ichimaru take your place back amongst the ranks of Squad 3." she announced.

Gin did as she commanded and made his way to his squad. Lieutenant Kira stood at the front, as anyone could tell from Gin's betrayal the Lieutenant had become a different man and was cautious of his Captain's return. As was much of his squad and Gin didn't let it effect him. He knew that he would have to earn their trust again as well as Matsumotos'.

"Now that's better. Anywho, I shall introduce you to my espada and their teams and what their assignments are. A couple of you will be in for a shock." she paused then continued on.

"My first team is an all womens' team. Tia Harribel is team leader and Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, Cyan Sung-Sun are under her command. They are my stealth team. They will be working closely with squads 9 and 10. Captains, I expect your full cooperation with them as well as your entire squads." Kagome instructed, her voice very firm.

Both Captain Hitsuguya and Captain Shuhei Hisagi gave her their words then, that there would be full cooperation from their squads as well as theirselves.

"My second team is my team that will travel all over Japan as need be. Nelliel Tu Odelschwank and Grimmjow Jaegerjacques are co-leaders of this squad with Pesche Guatiche, Dondochakka Bilstin, Di Roy Rinker, and Edorad Leones under them. They will be met back and forth with all patrolling squads and I expect them to be treated as you would treat any other member of the Seretei." she said and checked their faces for defiance.

Seeing that no-one seemed resistant as of now she continued on. But was weary of any possible outburst that was bound to happen.

"My third team is reconnisence. It is comprised of only three; Ulquiorra Schiffer, Shawlong Koufang, and Nakeem Grindina. My fourth team is my medical and science team. Team leader is Szayel Apporo Grantz and second in command is Yylfordt Grantz. Under them is Lumina and Verona. This team will be close with Squads 4 and 12, mainly 12. As such Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi you will answer to Szayel or Yylfordt. There will never again be an experiment done on any living creature or on a soul, no matter even if they are hollow or espada. If there is any violation to anything I have said punishment will be swift and there will be a meeting with the Master of Hell. Am I understood?" she said with the last part firm, leaving no room for arguement.

Several emotions had passed over the faces of the crowd and Kagome was showing that she was serious. Captain Mayuri could not do anything really but gape like a fish while Nemu had her hand over her mouth hiding the smile on her face.

"Now for my final team, it is comprised of two, Coyote Starkk and Lilinette Gingerbuck. They are my more or less homefront team. They will be learning the ends and outs of every team and person within this Seretei. Finally this meeting is adjourned. You may go." she said.

The shell-shocked shinigami began to disperse from the room to return to their assignments. The espada followed the teams they were supposed to be getting close to. Kagome grabbed Ulquiorra before he could disappear on her and dragged him to where Orihime was sitting. As they got closer Kagome could see Orihime was awake and was handing the little girl off to Captain Kenpachi. Ichigo and her friends were waiting for her to join them. Kagome took that moment to literally shove Ulquiorra right at her just as she got to her feet.

He didn't crash into her but his quick movement towards her made her notice him. Her eyes had widened to their extent and her breathing had stopped; she was in shock. She started to shake and bring her hands towards him, almost like she was scared to believe that he was really there. As her hands got just centimeters from him, panic rolled from her form. She had lost him once just as they were about to touch, he turned to dust just as they were about to touch the tips of their fingers together.

Orihime froze. Just a mere nudge and they would touch. Her face held her panic and terror as clear as day for anyone to read. Believing if she followed through with the last movement he would evaporate and be gone from her all over again. Her hands shook violently. She was deciding whether or not to take the leap of faith and finish reaching out.

The suspense was killing Kagome! So she gave Ulquiorra a little push. His chest went right against her hands. A strangled and shuddering gasp escaped Orihime as she felt that he was solid. She rubbed her hands up his shoulders to his face. Carefully she traced the lines, resembling tear trails, on his face and then outlined his lips with her thumb.

Silent tears rolled down her face as she continued to assure herself that he was not imaginary but quite real. Tangling her hands in his black hair and stared into his eyes, she knew that he was there.

"You're real.'' she mouthed.

"Yes, onna, I'm very real." he said.

Everyone around them sweatdropped, even Kagome. Did he just ruin the moment by calling her woman? Then Orihime laughed happily.

"You are definately real!" she said and threw her arms around him.

It was a shock for them to see him return the embrace. Even Orihime was a little surprised but she just went with it and was happy. He had more feelings than he did before he "died" and for her that was wonderful, it meant that he would respond to her love and love her back.

"Uh-hem. Maybe you two would like to take this little love fest to private quarters." Kagome suggested.

"Yes, my lady." Ulquiorra answered and pulled Orihime along with him.

Kagome smiled brightly. They weren't going to do anything but she had to get the ball rolling a bit. She was a sucker for love and happy endings. Speaking of happy endings she skipped out of the room to go find Gin and Rangiku to see how they were patching things up.

* * *

**AN: Hmmm. Honestly tell me what ya think.**


	5. Chapter 4 - Escort

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.**

**AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone. Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed this fic.**

* * *

**Last Time: Kagome smiled brightly. They weren't going to do anything but she had to get the ball rolling a bit. She was a sucker for love and happy endings. Speaking of happy endings she skipped out of the room to go find Gin and Rangiku to see how they were patching things up.**

* * *

Kagome followed the sounds of crashing and banging and yells. When she arrived to the carnage she found the two people she was looking for. Gin was seriously letting Rangiku know he was more sorry than anything and she was letting all of her anger out. Kagome couldn't help but shake her head and wait for them to be through so she could fix him up.

Rangiku was screaming at him and beating the hell out of him. He was letting her too. By allowing her to beat the crap out of him, he was allowing her to see what he was feeling inside about his betrayal. He could have very easily dodged or attacked her back; but that would show that he was defending what he had done by not telling her or anyone from the very beginning what was going to happen. By letting her whoop his ass; he was allowing her, the one he had hurt more than anyone, dish out the punishment he rightly deserved and was taking it like the man he was proving to her that he was.

Rangiku did not once use weapons or Kido on him, just her own strength and body. That was her way of letting him know she still loved him. Very easily she could have run him through with Haineko and ended all the connections they had with each other, she didn't. She loved him more than anyone and would 'til the day she died and even after into the afterlife she would continue to love him.

Not once did Kagome try to step in but when it was over, she came to them, prepared to heal him right up. Gin stopped her though. He explained that by allowing himself to heal slowly he would endure pain just as she had when he had disappeared. Pain that would take time to heal. He had inflicted pain to her heart and she suffered with it. Now she inflicted his body with it and he would endure it to make his laments to her and his squad.

Rangiku had smiled sadly and moved to his side to help him stand. He winced and she called him a big baby and began to coddle him. Kagome watched them leave and knew they were going to be happy again. The time it was going to take for him to heal and Rangiku nursing him back to health from her beating; was going to bring them back together quite nicely.

Now it seemed all she had to do was watch the love that was going to bloom between some shinigami and espada. Her musing was cut as a black butterfly floated towards her. She held her hand out and the butterfly litted upon her hand and spoke.

Kagome smirked at the faces of the council that had summoned her like she was some kind of lap dog. The audacity some people had. But for many when they are put into a position of power it goes to their heads. Not her, she had had power her whole life and had not went power hungry. They were definately not used to being told they had no power over someone.

When she had approached the chamber they were waiting for her at she was met by, General Yamamoto. She refused to go any further until he told her why she was there. He explained what they wanted to see her about and what he wanted to see her about.

His she understood. He wanted to debrief her on what she had done to Aizen and Tousen. Simple and innocent enough, he was just doing his job and keeping everything in order. The council wanted to see her for other reasons. They wanted to meet her and wanted to ascess her strength and powers. In other words they wanted to find ways to strengthen themselves through her by any means necessary and by doing so finding a way to have control over her and her power. She loathed people like that.

She had entered the room to see many men and a few women, very few. She summed up that the council was mainly male dominated and that the women had gotten there either by blackmail or inherited. Their eyes had shown with greed as she stepped into the room. Hungriness radiated off of them as they looked at her like she was a prize winning horse. She took the initiative to start a conversation instead of being looked over.

When they explained what they wanted to see her about she had just about combusted. They had welcomed her like she was an old friend and then started the subject they wanted to be on. Said subject was about her living quarters. Their motive was to get her around them so they could influence her choices and then sufficently have her married off to one of their choosing. She immediately snuffed their attempts to having her live with one of them; making it known she fully intended to have her own place where she would live and train with her espada. They began to protest.

Their main arguement was her espada. They were a danger to the Soul Society and should be destroyed. Kagome was angry they were a threat to the espada and anyone that was with them. They were going to be her family and they were being threatened. Her power had fluxuated and had sent them hurdling out of their seats and to the floor. She was making her point, that the espada were not to be harmed in any way. They were under her protection and that she would rather see the council removed. At which point she did.

She abolished the council and said for it to be rid of until she said otherwise, if she ever said otherwise. They protested greatly and tried to pacify her as well as tried to get General Yamamoto to "talk some sense" into her. He didn't say one word to her about her decision to abolish the council, in his personal opinion, it was about time someone told them no. Instead he had changed the subject that he needed information about, Sousuke Aizen and Kaname Tousen. She was happy to let him know.

The council had been furious at the outright way they were ignored by Kagome and General Yamamoto. They had began to stutter with anger and protest her changing the subject. But their protests landed on deaf ears as she patted the elder man's arm and asked him to join her for some tea and she would inform him of what had occurred with the two deceased shinigami.

As the two were leaving Kagome had looked over her shoulder, with a smirk on her face, she informed the now retired council that they were dismissed.

The hot steam wafted up to the ceiling, letting the occupants breathe in the warm fragrance of Jasmine tea, calming the occupants nicely for the stressful subject.

"Now, my lady, would you please tell me what had become of Captain Aizen and Tousen?" he asked, it sounded more of a suggestion than a question.

"Of course, General." she said as she poured him a cup and then herself.

They both took light sips and she began to regale him of what she had done with their souls. She told him that she had kept her eyes on them inbetween collected the espada and when they had fallen she had went to them. Tousen she had looked inside of him. He was disillusioned about a very close friends death. The woman's death had changed him and that led him to defect with Aizen. Captain Hisagi dealt him the fatal blow and as Tousen lay dying he called him over to him but died before he could say anything. She informed the General that he was going to ask for forgiveness and that had helped her decision to send him to be reincarnated into a more peaceful life.

General Yamamoto had nodded and sipped his tea. He made a mental note to ask Captain Hisagi about what had happened on his end and to make it known to the rest of the Captains of Captain Tousens' final moments.

She had moved to Aizen after she poured more tea for them. She informed him that she hadn't seen the battle that had resulted in his death but she had gotten to his soul just as it had concluded. The man had thought that no-one could ever defeat him. That he was all powerful and mighty. She had seen the ugliness seeping from his soul, it clouded what little light he had left inside of him. He wasn't evil but pretty close. She had called the Master of Hell to her and handed Aizen over to him.

Aizen was to take part in rigorous trials and tasks that the Master would set before him. If he completed them to Buddha's standards then he would be able to go into reincarnation. If not, he would stay in purgatory. But one thing he had to do before he began his list of tasks was to get forgiveness from Momo Hinamori. His lieutenant was already moved to reincarnation but Buddha would allow him to beg her forgiveness before she went. Whether she consented or not would be up to her.

General Yamamoto had listened attentively and didn't question her decisions. He found them to be good decisions and as a goddess, she should make good decisions. They spoke then about her plans of living quarters. He knew of a large area that was mostly bare and would make a great place for her to have her home and the espada could train there. Kagome had asked him if he would like to show it to her or if he would have someone escort her to the site. He couldn't go with her but would send around someone he found available to her.

She agreed and informed him that in the meantime she would be with the espada to get their inputs on how they would like their rooms. He had nodded to her and she left.

A black butterfly flitted around through the courtyard of the sixth division in search of the recipient for its message. It flitted about going to the out stretched hand of Renji Abarai. The moment it landed it relayed its' message to the lieutenant for his captain. The lieutenant listened carefully, making notes of the major points, and as the butterfly took off he went to his captain.

Byakuya was in the middle of ascessing the skills of the newly added members to his squad. It was more or less watching them fumble over each other trying to impress him with their techniques. Their need to make a good impression on him was always lost on him but the way Renji had explained it, it made sense. He intimidated them, Rukia had even said the same thing, and he had to admit that he was a little intimidating but not that much. He was strict, yes, but scary, absolutely not. If they should be scared of anyone it should be Captain Zeraki.

"Captain! Message from General Yamamoto." Renji called out running up to him.

All of the new recruits stopped and held their breath. They were a bit terrified that the message was about a mission and they would be sent into the field so soon.

"Well Abarai?" he asked with absolute calm.

"The General wants you to escort the Goddess, Kagome, to near your home. The vacant area near there he has suggested that she build her home there and since that is your area, you are to show her." Renji mimicked from the butterfly.

"Very well. Take over here, Lieutenant Abarai." he instructed.

"Yes, sir." Renji snapped to attention then pulled Zabimaru.

Byakuya oversaw the beginnings of Renji taking over then disappeared without them even noticing.

Kagome had found all of the espada and spoke to them about their quarters and they all decided that they would be joining her. In other words they wanted to keep her protected even though she wouldn't need it. She was a goddess, what could harm her besides another god or goddess or Buddha himself? Nothing, except maybe a broken heart.

So they were gathered together, awaiting for their escort, unsure of who it was going to be. But the sudden heavy pressure of reitsu announced the arrival of their escort. As she looked around to see whom was sent, she went weak at the knees. Out of all of the ones he could have sent, he sent him.

Her heart picked up its tempo as he approached her and it took everything she had not to blush profusely when he spoke to her. His voice rubbed her nerves raw and sent shivers through her making her hot. Her senses became frazzled and it was made worse when she saw that the espada seemed to notice her attraction. The women seemed to be cheering her on while the men, well Grimmjow, was making a teasing face at her then he pouted as Nelliel smacked him on the arm.

"My lady, are you ready to leave?" he asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"Yes, o.. of course." she responded, her voice a little high.

He offered her his arm, she accepted with a blush painting her upper cheeks, and they disappeared with the espada right behind them.

When they came to a halt, Kagome was still on the edge of her nerves. She had never moved that fast in her life, not with Inuyasha, Koga, Sesshomaru, or anyone. He was so quick that it made her head spin. She had leaned against him when they stopped and shook her head.

"Are you alright?" he asked, making her very aware of what she was doing.

She almost jumped away from him, her heart trying to jump out of her throat. Kagome cleared her throat, shaking her head.

"I'm fine. Not used to moving that fast." she answered.

He inclined his head as she took his arm again. They began to stroll to the area she was to build her home, completely forgetting that the espada had come with them. What lay before Kagome was what looked to be an overgrown field with a sparce amount of trees.

"How many acres is there here?" she asked.

Byakuya stared ahead at the vacant field then simply stated, "240 acres. You do realize goddess that it will take some time to get this area inhabitable for you and them, unless you prefer it this way."

"Kagome, the name is Kagome, say it with me Ka-go-me. See it is not so hard." Kagome smiled at the shocked look on his face.

The former espada were sniggering behind them at her correcting him on her title. She had done them the same way. They now understood her a little better she wanted to be their friend and she had proved it by making them a family. The espada already loved her and were protective of her.

"We do have names you know." Grimmjow said with a low hiss.

"Grimmjow, play nice kitty and maybe I'll get you a nice big ball of yarn to play with." Kagome smiled at him, "Do not worry Captain, I can make this place inhabitable in under five minutes maybe less. It all depends on how fertile the soil is.

"Byakuya, the name is Byakuya. B-ya-ku-ya." mimicking her.

"How can you make this..." streching out his hand toward the overgrown field, "Inhabitable?"

No one missed the piece about their names, especially Kagome. She liked a challenge. Everybody had a few things to learn about the new goddess in the neighborhood.

* * *

**AN: What do ya think?**


	6. Chapter 5 - Home

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.**

**AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone.**

**Last Time: No one missed the piece about their names, especially Kagome. She liked a challenge. Everybody had a few things to learn about the new goddess in the neighborhood.**

* * *

With a twinkle in her blue eyes, she asked the espada if they were ready for their new home. All nodded yes and she instructed them to stand back, along with Byakuya.

With all eyes watching, her miko powers rose off her skin in a fury. Her hair was lifted in a breeze as she levitated off the ground. Concentrating she pushed her powers into her hands, slowly lowering to the ground, she braced herself and released the ki into the ground. The silver ki streaked across the ground like lightning, branching off in different directions followed then by a loud bang. The streaks came racing back to her and in their wake; was the greenest lawn with flowers, trees, and small babbling brooks cascading across the grounds.

"I always loved the pictures of the Spanish Haciendas, my dad use to show me. So how about a magnificent hacienda." she stated to no one in particular.

Raising her hands she filled them with a red ki and simply let it flow out and toward the ground. To the surprise of all gathered and there were quiet a few now, seeing as they had felt the release of so much power, the red ki started to leech across the ground and form archways and walkways. A huge structure was forming; when it was complete the three story Spanish Hacienda was white with a red tiled roof.

Waterfalls spilled over to fill elegant swimming pools on three sides of the house; a spa, sauna, and cooling ponds, with exotic trees, shrubs, and flowers, surrounded them with an extensive garden walk leading to an outside stone court yard with an open living room, cookery, fireplace and fire braziers. In the middle of the courtyard was a large pond, being filled with underground springs, with fish swimming around and occassionally jumping out, decorated with white and pink water lillies floating on the top, hanging lights decorated the trees making the apperance feel homey. Then leading up to greenhouses, vegetable gardens, and herb gardens.

Floor to ceiling curvacious windows complete with sheer white curtains blowing in the breeze, arched doorways with thick mahogany doors, cathedral beamed ceilings, a stone-crafted wet bar and wine cellar, hardwood floors, stone fireplaces, beautiful area rugs, spiraling cherry staircases, spacious 40 bedroom suites with bathing rooms and balconies, walk in closets with clothes, gourmet kitchen with brushed steel appliances, chilled pantries with all manner of foods, a family room, a game room, a theater room, a full gym and dojo. The training fields were equipped with all manner of training gear.

When she called back her ki; a white stucco walled fence, lined with illuminated columns, with a red top and wrought iron gates were the final encasement enclosing the full 240 acre estate.

With a huge smile, Kagome turned and said, "Welcome Home".

She motioned for her friends to enter through the iron gate. She said for them to go find their own rooms and that dinner would be served at seven in the dining room, as well as for them not to be late and dressed appropriately because of a guest. With that the former espada took off looking for the room that would fit them.

"Come Captain Kuchiki, you will be the first to tour my new home." Kagome latched onto his arm and dragged him through the gate.

"Well, Captain I told you less than five minutes. You do remember who I am don't you?" she teased the still shell shocked captain.

"It's Byakuya." he reminded her.

"I know. Come on. I will be sure to let the General know what a wonderful escort you are." she said with a smile that almost made him melt. "Besides I need someone to tell me how they like my cooking, you are invited to dinner."

He had shaken his head to clear it and followed her as she pulled him after her. No-one that had gathered followed them in, as they were not invited, but they dispersed to spread the development that seemed to be evolving between the goddess and the captain of the sixth squad.

Renji had finished up his duties that Byakuya had assigned to him, before he left to escort Kagome, and he was meeting up with Rukia, Ichigo, and some of the others that were sure to be there. They wanted to talk about the developments that Kagome was doing for all of them.

He reached his destination at one of the areas that was made for some down time for the shinigami. Everyone was already there waiting on him.

"Hey Renji, come on." Ichigo had called over to him.

Renji hurried over to their table and sat down beside them and joining in on the conversation and having a cup of sake. He had something that would knock the socks off of them, a really new rumor.

"Are you ok with your new position?" Kira asked Rukia.

"Yeah. I mean it won't be as exciting as being out there on missions but atleast I will be recognized for my dedication and knowledge." she answered, "Also it will make nii-sama very happy."

"That's the truth." Ichigo added to it.

"That's not all that will be making him happy." Renji said and sipped his sake.

"What is it you know? Has she made some more changes?" Rukia asked.

"Our new little goddess is having your brother as her personal guest tonight for dinner." he said.

"So?" they said.

"He also dropped everything he was doing to escort her to her new home and was given a personal tour. She really likes him, if all of the blushes she has around him are anything to go on. As well as he allowed her to grab him and drag him around behind her and he wants her to call him Byakuya instead of Captain. She also seems to make him a little frazzled." he said.

"I make him frazzled." Rukia said unbelieving.

"But do you give him smiles that stun him and make him lose his composure momentarily?" he asked.

The shock on their faces spoke in volumes. It was not like his captain and when he had been told he had not believed it but when he had recieved a missive from Byakuya, he did.

"Thought not." he said and downed the last of his cup.

The rumor that was spreading like wildfire throughout the Seretei was not falling upon the ears of the occupants in the new home of the goddess of souls. The goddess herself was busy entertaining her guest and housemates, leaving everything outside, outside.

"How's your grandfather?" Kagome asked Byakuya as she was peeling carrots.

She took the carrot shavings and placed them in the salad that they were making. She had set him to slicing cucumbers while some of the espada set the table, others started on different dishes they liked to make.

"He is doing well. Retirement bores him but he finds ways to occupy his time." he said.

"In other words he tries to do what he thinks is best for you and sets about to get you or Rukia married off?" she asked, her tone showed she wasn't serious about the question.

"Yes and no. As head of the family I am to see to Rukias' happiness." he answered.

"I see. You won't arrange a marriage for her but instead will let her decide. That would make her happy. You care about her so much." she said with a smile on her face, "What about you?"

He almost didn't answer her when he saw her smile, "Hisana was a wonderful woman."

Her smile faltered and it caused a discomfort to run through him. She quickly composed herself hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Was?" she asked, her voice was controlled but still hinted at feminine emotion.

"Yes, she died many years ago." he said quietly.

The only thought going through his mind was why he was answering her. He never spoke of Hisana with anyone except Rukia but he felt the need to tell Kagome.

"I am so sorry. She must have been very lovely. You must of loved her so much." Kagome told him.

"I did. She was lovely. She and Rukia look almost the same but their personalities are nothing alike. If they didn't look so much alike I would forget that they were sisters." he said and stopped, that was more than he had been willing to share.

A confused look came over Kagomes' face. Rukia and Hisana were sisters, but Rukia is also his sister. So did that mean Hisana was his sister and he married her?

"Um, was Hisana your sister as well?" she asked nervously.

"No. Hisana and Rukia were siblings. When Hisana died I adopted Rukia to give her a family and protect her." he answered her.

He almost smiled at her. She had thought that Hisana was his sister and he married his own sibling. He could understand why she would think that.

"Is she the one that taught you how to cook?" she asked, gesturing to the dishes he helped her with.

"Yes. She loved it and I rarely had time off. That was how we would spend time together." he said to her.

"Oh, what was your favorite thing to make?" she asked, interest colored her voice.

"Curry and tempura was mine. Hisana loved pickles, she liked to make them." he said with a little disdain at the mention of pickles.

_**(AN: Research on his character led to the discovery that Byakuya likes spicy food but hates pickles and potatoes.)**_

She had caught the disgust in his voice. He really disliked pickles. She was learning more and more about him. The way he spoke of Hisana told her how much he had loved her and that he had adopted Rukia, showed even more that he had genuinely loved the woman. It made her a little sad that he had loved such a woman and that he had lost her but her sadness was a bit more. She had developed a crush on him the moment she had seen him and the more she learned of Hisana and... felt how he had loved her, made her feel almost unworthy. Almost like she was encroaching on another womans territory.

"My father disliked pickles too, but loved spicy food. Much like you." she said, catching his undivided attention.

"My mother loves them. She did everything to get him to just eat one. Hehehe, she had then discovered a way to get him to eat them. My grandmother gave her a recipe for spicy pickle spears. Because the ingredients were different than most recipes the pickles had changed color and the odor was spicy, he couldn't tell the difference. He had eaten almost a dozen of those spears before my mother told him that they were pickles. The look on his face was priceless when he looked at her. She had then said to him that she guessed he didn't hate pickles anymore." she regaled, a sad happiness was in her eyes.

She hadn't really told him anything about herself. But he could tell that her father was deceased and she really missed him. There was also some other emotion that would run across her face as he had been talking about Hisana that he couldn't place. What was it? But every time he noticed it a dull throbbing jab would come to his senses. It felt a little like guilt. Why?

The walk home to the Kuchiki estate had went faster than it ever had for Rukia as she contemplated what Renji had told her about her brother and Kagome. What was really going on with those two? Was there something between them this soon after meeting? What...? She had run right into someone. She looked up and saw that it was her grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki, holding a small bonsai tree.

"Sorry, ji-sama." she apologized for her clumsiness.

The elder man didn't even notice that she had ran into him and it had barely registered to him that she was there. She saw it and noticed he was looking off in the distance from their estate to another home, that hadn't been there when she left that morning.

"What is that?" she asked aloud to no-one.

"It is a house." he answered.

"I know that. Where did it come from? It wasn't there when I left this morning." she said and stared with him.

"I don't know, I am just returning as well. It was not there when I left after mid-day." he replied.

Rukia went silent as she remembered Renji. It came to her then. Their new neighbor was Kagome and her brother was over there... doing who knew what.

"I will have to ask Byakuya. Did he arrive with you?" he asked her.

"Uh, no. He is having dinner with our new neighbor." she said.

"I thought you didn't know anything about this." he said.

"I didn't but I remembered just a second ago that Byakuya was escorting Kagome, the Goddess of Souls, around to her new home. She even gave him a personal tour and invited him to dinner. She likes him and he likes her." she informed him.

"What do you mean by that?" Ginrei asked, a twinkle of mischief entered his eyes.

"Well he wants her to call him Byakuya, he allowed her to drag him around in her excitement, he teases her too. And vice versa. She gave him a smile that stunned him and momentarily drop his composure." she explained.

"I see." he said and then added, "Well, how about we go in for dinner and leave your brother to his girlfriend?"

"Yes, ji-sama." she said with a smile on her face.

Tucking the white envelope into his sleeve, Byakuya made the short trek over to his family estate. The meal with Kagome and the espada had been an interesting and lively affair. He found the espada to be an actual enjoyable bunch, now that Aizen wasn't a constant threat to their lives. Some were loud and animated while others were even-toned and more reserved.

He learned quite a deal about the goddess at dinner. He learned that she had a family; a mother, grandfather, and a younger brother that were still living. She also had a son, that she adopted. Her father and grandmother were deceased. She wasn't married but had had many offers, which she turned them all down. Also she had brothers that weren't her blood-brothers but had adopted her like he had Rukia.

He would be meeting her family when she had her house warming party later in the week. She had given him the invitation for him, Rukia, and his grandfather to attend, she had mentioned for him to bring Renji as well. She would be sending out the rest of her invitations the next morning but she had given him his personally.

"Have fun?" his grandfathers voice interrupted his thoughts as he entered his home.

"Is Rukia home?" he asked, not answering the previous question.

"Yes she is." Ginrei said.

A young servent appeared in the room out of nowhere and asked if there was anything that he required. Byakuya sent the servent to get Rukia and then dismissed him when she arrived.

"Did you have a nice time, nii-sama?" she asked.

"I did. Lady Kagome, has invited us to attend her house warming later this week." he announced to them and handed them the white envelope to read.

"This is wonderful. I can wear that kimono you gave me. What are we going to gift her with?" Rukia said as she finished reading.

"We will think of something. It gives us a week to get prepared." Ginrei stated.

"Of course, but the real question will be what will Renji get?" Rukia voiced with a snicker.

"That is true. Now off to bed, you will have to keep him on his toes, Rukia." Ginrei said to his adopted granddaughter.

"Yes, jii-sama." she said and obeyed.

As soon as she was gone Ginrei turned to his grandson. A smile was present on the elder mans' face. Byakuya saw it and inquired.

"Is there something you require, sir?" he asked.

"Only answers. There is a rumor that is running rampant throughout the Seretei." he said.

"That is nice. I believe we are above idle gossip of those that know no better." Byakuya stated.

"We are, but one must always keep an ear out for when it becomes about them." Ginrei said.

"What scandal has the Kuchiki name been brought into?" he asked with a bit of bite.

"No scandal and not the entire Kuchiki name. Just you. You are the talk of the Seretei as well as our new occupant." he hinted. "Word is you and she are beginning a relationship. Many swear that she dragged you around with her, that you dropped what you had been doing just to escort her, you want her to call you by your name and not Captain or Lord. You were given a personal tour of her new home and invited to dinner all in the same day. Also it has been said that she gave you a smile that had you quite... uncomposed."

"Your point?" he asked.

"Nothing. Byakuya, you know as well as I, you would never allow anyone the benefits you have allowed her." Ginrei commented and left him alone.

Byakuya sighed and went to his study. His grandfather was right, he would never allow anyone do to him as she had. He had known the woman for so little of time and yet he was letting her treat him as he had let Hisana, when she was alive. Anyone could see that.

What was wrong with him?

Stretching her arms over her head, Kagome walked around her room. All she wanted was to take a hot bath and then go to bed. She couldn't wait for the week to go by so she could see her family and Byakuya again. At that thought her cheeks tinged pink. The man was like a magnet drawing her in and he was unaware of it. She wasn't though and was well aware that there was something coming from his end. Not that she blamed his hesitance or if he kept it to himself.

He had been married after all! If she was in his shoes then she would feel as if she was betraying the memory of her departed one. She was sure that she would be reluctant to admit anything. When there had been the drama between herself, Kikyo, and Inuyasha; she had been hesitant to admit anything to anyone, even to herself sometimes.

Why did she always fall for men that already had someone? Better yet; why did she always fall for men that were practically haunted by the memories of their dead girls? Why did the other Kami want to do this to her? It wasn't fair!

"Knock, Knock!" came the voice of Grimmjow and he opened her door.

Behind him was Nelliel, who had a little annoyed look on her face. What had he done now?

"What are you up to?" she asked him.

"Nothing. So when are you and Kuchiki going to hurry up and get busy?" he asked bluntly.

"That was uncalled for, Grimmjow." Nelliel chided him.

Kagome had turned bright red, all the way to the roots of her hair. Then annoyance kicked in to save what little dignity she had left.

"And here I thought leaving you that present on your bed would get you to behave atleast for one night." she said like an afterthought.

"Present!" Grimmjow said and went in search of the present.

Kagome let out a light chuckle. Grimmjow was like a child sometimes with violent tendencies.

"What was that all about?" she asked Nelliel.

"There is a rumor that you and Captain Kuchiki are, as I have heard, an item." Nelliel answered, making the quotation signs when she said, item.

"I see." she almost squeaked.

"What is this?!" Grimmjow fairly shouted returning to her room.

He walked in with a large ball of blue yarn. He was pulling at some of the strands and had a deep scowl on his face.

"I know it's inside, why won't it fall apart?" he said.

"What's inside?" Nelliel inquired.

"It is a learning ball. When you misbehave it gets bigger. When you behave it gets smaller. If you behave for a long while the yarn will eventually fall apart to let you have the catnip inside." Kagome explained.

Nelliel laughed and Grimmjow shot them both a scowl.

"How about I give you a little incentive to behave?" she asked.

"I'm listening." he said and didn't realize the ball got smaller.

Kagome let her hand rest on the bone mask fragment on his face. Her hand glowed for about a second and when she moved her hand it fell off. He was shocked and Kagome smiled as she patted his cheek.

"There! Almost as handsome as my son." she commented, "Isn't he handsome, Nel?"

Nelliel nodded slowly, staring at Grimmjow. He did look more handsome without the mask fragment. The nodding of her head had brought Kagome's attention to Nelliel's ram skull on her head. Kagome looked right at it, mumbling something under her breath. As soon as Nel jerked her head down when she was caught by Grimmjow, staring at him, the skull slid right to the floor.

Nelliel jerked her head back up in shock. Then ran over to Kagomes' mirror. She saw that it was indeed gone, leaving her head uncovered and allowing her waves to flow freely.

"Better?" Kagome asked and Nel nodded.

"You were beautiful before, but now it is even better." Grimmjow commented.

The mark across her face darkened at his comment. She had never been told she was beautiful before.

"Hey, could you two go on now? I am tired and want a bath. On your way back to your rooms, inform the others that I will be doing the same for them in the morning as well as removing hollow holes." Kagome said.

The two lovebirds left her quarters for their own. Kagome sighed again and set about to getting her bath. When morning came she would think more on this newly developed rumor.

* * *

**AN: Another chapter, a looong one. Drama will ensue soon!**


	7. Chapter 6 - Family Comes

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.**

**AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone.**

**AN II: Ok, sorry about the late update but I've been in the hospital for Pancreatitis.**

**Last Time: The two lovebirds left her quarters for their own. Kagome sighed again and set about to getting her bath. When morning came she would think more on this newly developed rumor.**

* * *

"Mama! I'm here!" Kagome called out into the shrine she had grown up.

Kagome almost ran to the kitchen. It had been years since she had seen her mother, for her; but for her mother and family it had been just months. It had her years to finish the tama, she had barely graduated highschool, and every time she came home Souta looked different. He had been growing up without her and the last time she had come through the well, it had been two months before his fourteenth birthday.

"Kagome, we're almost ready." her grandfather said, trying to fix his tie.

Kagome smiled at the elder man. She had missed him dearly. She came up to him and took over fixing the bow tie. Atleast they were almost ready. She would have came home earlier in the week but she had duties to do.

"Sis, where are we going? It took you years to almost finish the jewel. We don't see you for months and now you have a home in another world. What has went on?" Souta asked.

"Souta, that is for me to tell when we get to my home." Kagome answered slowly.

There was a tapping coming from the stairwell and that alerted everyone that Mrs. Higurashi was coming down the stairs, she was ready. When she appeared, Kagome hugged her. She had missed her so much.

"Oh, Kagome, I missed you so much. Where have you been?" her mother asked.

"I was in the past. I will explain everything later. If we wait we will be late and I will be a horrible hostess." she said.

"Of, course. Dad, Souta; are you both ready?" Mrs. Higurashi asked them.

"Yes, we are. We can go." grandfather answered.

"Ok, let's go." Kagome said.

Kagome led her family outside to the shrine grounds. They looked around, wondering where she had left her car.

"Sis, where's your car or are we walking?" Souta asked.

Kagome smiled, "I don't have a car. We will have to walk a short ways, we will come out in my gardens."

Before they could say anymore, Kagome opened her hand and a black butterfly formed above and then landed on her finger. She held it up, closer to her face, and blew on it's wings. It's wings began to crumble and float about them as Kagome brought her hand up and slashed it down. A portal filled with bright white light appeared but the middle of it was shaded. People were coming through.

Kagome turned to her family then, she would have to gift them with a temporary sight of beings from the Soul Society.

"Who are they?" Souta asked.

"You can see them?" Kagome asked, utterly flabbergasted.

"See who, my boy?" Grandpa asked.

"Souta there's no one there. Is there Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi stated.

"Yes, there is." Kagome said. "Two of my own elite guard."

Through the portal stepped Starkk and Lilinette. Kagome was glad to see that this time the young girl was more covered up. She was wearing a knee-high red kimono with a gold inner haori with red and gold ballet slip-ons; quite conservative compared to her usual everyday wear.

"My Lady." Starkk greeted her.

Lilinette smiled and waved at her but otherwise kept her gaze darting around, looking at different things. Souta had noticed Lilinette but the look Starkk shot at him had him staying away.

"We will be along in a minute Coyote. I have to make them "see" first." Kagome replied.

With a wave of her hands over her mother and grandfathers' faces she was able to bring them into "sight". Her grandfather readied himself to throw a sutra at Starkk but Kagome grabbed the peice of paper, that would only serve as a sticky annoyance, from him. She motioned for her family to come through the portal and they followed, staying close behind her.

The closer they got to the end of the portal, the brighter the light became until it just cut off into normal daylight. They could see after a few seconds of adjusting and were amazed with the sight around them.

"Mother, grandfather, Souta; this is my home." Kagome said and gestured to all that was around them.

"W... Where are we?" Mrs. Higurashi asked in awe.

"We are in the Soul Society. The world between the living and the dead. A place where souls get a second chance of sorts; where they can grow to be adults after they never got to, where they can find love and a family after they never got to have them before. A place where they can have peace, if they wish, after lives of heartache, suffering, and hatred." Kagome explained.

"Sis,... are you dead?" Souta asked.

Kagome was startled then. She hadn't thought of that. Would they think she was dead after being told all of that? Of course they would.

"No. I am the ruler of this realm. I was promoted by Buddha, himself, to a goddess. I am the Goddess of Souls." Kagome said casually.

The shock on their faces told her she had better get to explaining some things. She nodded to them and began to explain.

Rukia sighed and leaned against the wall behind her. She had arrived early at Kagome's, via Kagomes' requests, and was asked to help out while she was gone to get her family. She had left her, Nelliel, and Harribel in charge of finishing up the decor and entertaining the guests until she returned.

Since she had more experience with being a hostess, belonging to a noble family and all, she was the hostess. Greeting everyone and trying to avoid knocking some much needed sense into Renjis' head. The man had forgotten to bring a welcoming gift, as was proper. Also since he had come with her family, it looked bad on them; and so to avoid even the smallest amount of shame to fall on the Kuchiki name, she offered to share her gift with him. Then all she had to worry about was him insulting one of the espada, especially Szayel, since he had handed Renji his butt on a silver platter.

Her main job; that she assigned herself, was to keep an eye out for Kagome and her human family and for her demon family, that was going to be late.

Successfully they had avoided any crisis, thus far, that could occur at such an event and when Kagome arrived they let out a little sigh of relief. They could relax a little and enjoy themselves more. Especially Harribel, who had her eye on a certain young captain.

As Kagome entered the main room, with her family, Starkk, and Lilinette in tow, the talking ceased immediately. She hated it when that happened, talk about making someone feel self-concious. She hated it even more when they lowered their heads, in that "hidden" bow, since she didn't allow them to fall to their knees and bow to her.

"Please stop that! I will not have any of you grovelling to me in any form. I may have a higher standing and more power but that doesn't make me better than any of you." she said and they ceased.

"Thank you. Now I want to thank everyone for coming to our open house. If you all will please, look around, get acquainted with my teams and enjoy the wonderful food that has been prepared by myself, Nelliel, Harribel, and Rukia. They worked hard and would appreciate a little feedback. So enjoy." Kagome said and clapped her hands together.

She watched as everyone dispersed, her family was weary but they noticed that she was calm and went on to mingle. Sota noticed a couple of girls that were around his age and went over to talk to them. Kagome had smiled and knew that he and Karin Kurosaki would have alot to talk about, since they both loved soccer. She was quite happy as she noticed that the espada were mingling amongst the reapers and were in pleasant conversation together.

Her thoughts were cut short when she noticed someone had said her name. She turned and saw that it was Ginrei Kuchiki. She smiled warmly at the man. She remembered him very well. He had been sent to her on numerous occassion but the most memorable was the Samurai expulsions. She was almost out of her mind during that time as the Japanese government wanted all of their old ways dissolved. Wanting to move on with the times and forget the past but their were the few, the Samurai, that wanted to preserve the ancient teachings of the Sword arts. Keeping the memory alive.

She had met him on one of the worst battlefields. So many young, barely teenagers, had lost their lives and she was so distraught. So many children, so many that had barely lived, were there crying out their grief of being dead. Countless shinigami was there to do her bidding but he was the only one that had comforted her, gave her a shoulder to cry on. That was the memory of this proud man that stood out to her the most.

"My lady, how are you today?" he greeted her.

"I am fine. How have you been since you have retired? Have you been able to keep yourself busy?" she asked.

"It was rather droll at first but as the time has went by, I have managed to keep busy with horticulture and my grandchildren." he answered.

"As in trying to make sure they are happy and that you get some great-grandchildren?" she asked and lifted her brow; giving him the look that said, I dare you to give me half-truths.

"Yes, my lady. I would like to hear the sounds of children again. I haven't heard it since Byakuya was a child playing with Yoruichi. I miss the sounds." he said with a fond smile on his aging face.

"I miss the sounds of children as well. My Shippo is all grown up now, he hasn't given me any grandchildren yet, hopefully he will eventually." she mentioned.

"I see. So what is going on between you and my grandson?" he asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, oblivious to the rumors that had continued to circulate.

He explained what had been spread around. She was not surprised in the least. She had went to highschool and had experienced the rumor mills, so it didn't bother her. But what did surprise her was the fact that he came out and asked her what she thought about Byakuya.

Before she had to answer she was saved by the slightly higher register of Harribel's voice. Kagome had immediately swiveled around to find out what was going on. Then she saw it and all she could think was, poor Captain Hitsuguya.

"You are so cute!" Harribel said, in a very un-Harribel way.

She had grabbed him and hugged him. His being shorter than her had put him in the position of being suffocated by her breasts like it did when he was hugged by his lieutenant. Several resoundings of the phrase, "lucky", had passed and Kagome couldn't help but notice the huge grin on Harribels', bone mask free face. Then she noticed Rangiku had a devious air around her. She had set the whole thing in motion. She was playing match-maker for her Captain and had decided that Harribel was the best woman for him. Kagome wholeheartedly agreed with her.

She smiled brightly at the dazed look on the young captains' face as Harribel released him and upon hearing him say something to the effect of, crazy women with big breasts trying to suffocate him. He tried to compose himself but with Harribel right next to him he was a little... discomposed. And she knew it!

Everyone had already gone back about mingling around and enjoying themselves. Several we're trying to strike up conversations with her and she was trying to distinguish who was who among them. Many were women who wanted to know what was going on with her and Captain Kuchiki and wanted her to join the Soul Reaper Women's Association; which she found had an on-going campaign to make a picture book of the elusive captain and Rukia refused to help them get pictures.

As she tried to answer questions a very heavy aura descended upon them. It was stifling, almost, and sent the miko ki in her body into a frenzy while it had many reapers on edge. A jubilent smile graced her features and she was very giddy.

"They're here!" she squealed.

"Who's here?" was whispered around the room.

"The rest of my family." she said as the door came open.

In walked a young man, as they thought at first until they saw a bushy fox tail; with shaggy red hair, green eyes, and was dressed more from the fuedal times than the modern times. The others that entered behind were dressed similarly of the fuedal time period, but a few were more wild looking with furs. They all had armor and weapons on them as well, except one of the women. She was very regal and beautiful, a lady of stature and power. She wore no armor or any weapon they could see but she did have a very tall man, with an eye-patch, shadowing her. It seemed he was her bodyguard.

Two of the more wild looking of the bunch had seen Kagome before she got to the front of the crowd and had met her halfway.

"Sister!" they shouted and sandwiched her between them in a tight hug. "We have missed you."

"I have missed you too." she said happily.

The red headed fox moved to them and tapped on their shoulders.

"I get first hug. She is my mother." he said with a grin, showing his fangs to all in the room.

The two let her go and before she could say anything she was swept up again into his embrace and he swung her around before he set her on her feet. She had her arms tightly around his neck and was stroking his hair lovingly. A few tears leaked out of her eyes and trailed down her face and he pulled away.

"Mama, don't cry." he said.

"I can't help it! I don't see my baby for a couple of hundred years and when I do see him again, he is so grown up and I missed it!" she cried.

"It's ok, Kagome. Ayame and I were sure to take plenty of pictures." said another of the wilder people. " We also have plenty of embarrassing stories to share with you about your kit, he is quite mischevious and has gotten in a bit of trouble with the ladies."

"Shippo what have you done!" she asked, scandalized.

"Nothing, that is to be discussed in the open." he said and gestured around the room.

Kagome gave him the "look" and crossed her arms, "Do I have grandchildren that I don't know about?"

"Kami I hope not!" he said.

"His use of kitsune seduction is highly developed for someone his age." the red headed woman said.

"Tattle-tale." Shippo mumbled.

"Shippo!" she growled.

"Kagome I believe this should wait until later or am I supposed to continue to be ignored?" the regal lady commented.

"Oh! Where are my manners? I am so sorry, Midori. I see you brought your new pet with you." Kagome said to her and then turned to a man wearing white with a fur.

"Hey, fluffy!" she greeted.

He growled at her and she grabbed him in a hug around his waist.

"Sesse you know I'm teasing." she said to him.

A smile gifted his face and Kagome could hear a couple of women swoon. She rolled her eyes and had to admit, when he smiled he could definately silence the females of any species, he was just so handsome. She could see his ego inflate as he caught what she was thinking. Just what he needed a bigger head.

"Fluffy, come on and join the festivities or are you finally going to give me a hug?" she asked.

He did give her the hug she asked for and when he let her go she announced who they were. The reaction in the room was almost hilarious. She made a mental note to make more down time for the stressed shinigami. If they got so worked up meeting the Lord of the entire demon realm; his mother, the gatekeeper of hell, and her brothers, sister-in-law, and her son, all important figures within the demon world, she decided that she would have to establish vacations to maintain good mental health and less stress to be perfect.

When they calmed Kagome, pulled Sesshomaru to the side to discuss her needing his help to get a captains' trust and respect. Only he would be able to help her get his respect and then he would be more inclined to respect her rules.

* * *

**AN: What do you think is going to happen?**


	8. Chapter 7 - Meddling

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or Inuyasha.**

**AN: This fic is dedicated to Aubrey-Simone. Also a second chapter because I was late with the last one.**

**Last Time: When they calmed Kagome, pulled Sesshomaru to the side to discuss her needing his help to get a captains' trust and respect. Only he would be able to help her get his respect and then he would be more inclined to respect her rules.**

* * *

As the day drew on and on, Kagome became more aware that she needed to establish herself in more than just one captains graces. She knew how to handle the majority of them but there was several that didn't need to convince. She had recruited Sesshomaru earlier on in the day to help her with Captain Kurotsuchi and she had the perfect plan for him. He loved a challenge and research and science. She would give him a challenge that he would never be able to complete without her giving him the antidote.

She knew exactly what she was going to do with each and every one that she needed to do this with. But first she wanted... no needed, to learn more about Byakuya. What better way to learn about someone than getting them alone and relaxed than a nice peaceful walk? She glanced around the room and found him conversing with his grandfather. Shaking her head and looking towards heaven, she made her way across the room to them.

As she approached she could see the glee filling the elder mans' face and could feel the curiousity emanating from the crowd. The gossipmongers and rumor mills will have plenty to talk about tomorrow. She took a deep breath before she attempted to get his attention. Even a goddess had problems, hers just happened to be love.

"Byakuya?" she said lightly.

He stiffened as he heard her voice. He liked her voice and had wanted to hear it since he had had dinner with her a week before. Turning to her, he had to keep himself composed, no reason to let the rumors get more out of hand than they would be.

"Yes, my lady?" he said.

Kagome sighed, "I told you, Kagome, please."

"Kagome." he said to her.

She smiled and a crack formed in his composure. Only those closest to him would notice it and notice it they did. His grandfather was mentally cheering him on, Rukia looked like she was about to bust with happiness, and Yoruichi was smiling like a chesire cat. All wanting him to move on from Hisanas' memory and find some love and happiness.

"Would you like to take a walk with me in my Sakura garden? It is a bright and warm night, so we could see the trees while they are still in bloom." she asked and blinked her eyes hopefully.

He couldn't say no to her, wouldn't say no to her. It was like she had this charm that kept him from denying her, kept him from maintaining his aloof facade and kept him from pushing her away. She seemed to be a life line he never knew he needed to pull himself out of the hole that he had been dumped in upon Hisanas' death. He didn't hesitate a second in answering her.

"Yes, it would be my pleasure." he answered.

Kagome gave him that stunning smile she only gave to him as she accepted his offered arm. Wrapping hers around his they left the room with all eyes staring at their backs.

He had never been so happy to leave a room in his life than he had at that moment. The eyes boring into them was a bit disturbing. Seriously, what did it matter to them if he went for a walk with Kagome? It wasn't like they were getting married. At least it wasn't in his book but with the glee emanating off of his grandfather, he wouldn't put it past him to try something. He was also sure that he would try and recruit Rukia and Renji and would go to Yoruichi, who would volunteer her services. He could already see them plotting against him.

"Penny for your thoughts, Byakuya." Kagome said, breaking him out of his reverie.

"It is nothing." he answered.

"It can't be nothing if it has you scowling like that." she commented.

He sighed heavily, "I was thinking about what will be running around tomorrow after this walk of ours."

"Ahh, I see. Well, the way I see it is, let people think and say what they want and in the end the truth will win out and they will look the fool." she remarked.

"That is very wise. Alas though I do not see it that way. Especially when my grandfather, sister, lieutenant, and friend will be involved in some way or another." he added in.

"Family is always looking out for your best interests. But sometimes it is best in your interest to allow you to find what you need on your own." she said.

He nodded and thought about what she had just said. She was right. Though telling that to Yoruichi would be like pulling eye-teeth when it came to him. She was stubborn but she was his best friend after all. Rukia would concede but would still help plot with his grandfather behind his back, Renji would help Rukia even if he ordered him to back off, as for his grandfather; well there is a different story entirely. He would tell him that he would leave things alone and then continue on when he was out of the proverbial fire.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Kagome asked once again pulling his attention to her.

She was gesturing to the full in bloom Sakura trees. The blooms were cascading down from the branches to the stream below as the wind blew lightly to place them gently on the reflection of the full moon.

"They are a lot of work too." he added.

"Yes they are. But well worth it for the end results." she said and continued, "That reminds me, would you mind if I borrow your grandfather to help with my gardens?"

"You should ask him." he answered.

"I will but as you are head of the family it is protocol that I ask you first." she countered.

"I see. It is fine with me; the final decision would be his of course." he replied.

Kagome nodded, the gears in her head already were turning. She smiled and kept walking with him. There were ways to get to know someone; talking to them directly OR getting information from the next to the original source, Ginrei and possibly soon, Yoruichi. Who better than those two; the best friend and grandfather?

"I believe we had better return to the party or else someone may believe that we have eloped or something." she laughed, "Thank you for taking a walk with me."

"You're welcome." he couldn't help but let a smile slip to his face.

Kagome had been waiting for him to smile, just once. It was so becoming of him. He should definately smile more, so much more.

"You should do that more. It makes you even more handsome." she commented, still watching his face.

He looked at her, his gaze was intense, like he was trying to read everything about her. She couldn't help but duck her head shyly and gaze elsewhere. She was a goddess for goodness sakes! Why were matters of the heart or anything about men in general so complicated and... and... well hard? It was exasperating but well worth it, sometimes. What was waiting for her when she returned to her home would have her questioning whether or not it was worth it.

Seconds after Kagome had reentered her party and Byakuya had seperated himself from her, as she was being approached by Shippo; he had pulled her aside to talk and the first thing out of his mouth was about Byakuya.

"So, mom... Is that going to be my new father?" he asked casually.

Kagome spluttered and floundered for a few seconds before she just gave up. She wouldn't be able to lie to her kit, they were masters of seduction and would know attraction when they saw it.

"I don't know." she answered honestly.

"Who is he?" he asked.

"One of the captains." she said.

"Ok, which one? Name." he said.

"Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of Squad 6 and head of the Kuchiki clan." she said.

"That is much better than me figuring it out on my own. Otherwise I may be inclined to meddle." he said with a smirk, goading her.

"Is that a threat, kit?" she growled.

"No, mama. I am trying to help you get to some happiness. I love you and... well you deserve it more than anyone." Shippo retorted.

Kagome's eyes softened and her lips quirked, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Worry about yourself and getting me some grandchildren."

Shippo looked at her as if she had lost her marbles and shook his head vigorously. He wasn't ready to be a father and as far as he was concened, he wouldn't be ready for quite a while. He was going to be busy sneaking around behind her back helping her with her own heart problem. That was a Kitsune promise. And everyone knows kitsune do not break their promises, even to ones self, and he was just going to be sneaking around and finding information about the captain not anything more. That couldn't hurt, right?

"I'll settle for some siblings instead." he teased.

"Maybe, someday." Kagome answered with a far away look in her eyes.

"Miss Kagome!" a cheerful little girls voice called loudly.

Both mother and son looked over to see a little pink haired girl bounding over with a white box and a fist full of baby's breath, wild violets, and blue bells, tied together with a white silk ribbon. Said little girl came to a skidding halt in front of them and held the flowers out to her. Kagome took the flowers and smelled them and looked back down to her.

"Aww." a collection of feminine sighs resounded.

"Thank you, Yachiru." Kagome said and got down on her knees to equalize herself with her.

As Kagome looked at her, the words "she is so cute", rang through her head. She looked over at the other women in the room and noted that they thought so too.

"You're welcome, Miss Kagome. They're not from me though. They're from Kenny! This is mine. Do you like candy?" Yachiru asked handing her a white box.

"Yes, I do. Strawberry pocky is my favorite. Now where's Kenny?" she said to her.

"Kenny is watching. The flowers are more of a bribe." Yachiru informed her.

"A bribe?" she asked.

"Yes. Kenny wants to fight you for fun." Yachiru said and smiled brightly.

"For fun?" was all that went through her head, "Yachiru, inform Kenny that I will spar with him if he wishes, tell him thank you for the flowers, and give him this for me." Kagome gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek and Yachiru bounded off to Kenny.

Kagome watched her pink head weave around people and then stop to leap up onto a really tall mans shoulder. He had a violent aura but was a good person and he had an eye patch and crazy hair stuck up into really long spikes with bells on the ends. She saw Yachiru tell him what she had told her to say and then kiss him on the cheek. Kenny was a bit shocked but covered it up and looked over at her. She smiled and waved at him. He bowed his head at her and she returned the gesture. A silent agreeance between them of mutual respect and admiration. One captain down and a couple more to go.

As she thought about how to approach the other captains, she moved towards the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. She could hear snippets of conversation here and there. The majority of it was about her and Byakuya but there was others that had her laughing in her head and looking at the couples speaking.

Both were about how cute Yachiru was. The first she heard was from Nelliel and Grimmjow, of all people.

"I want a baby." Nelliel said softly.

"Really?" Grimmjow asked her, pulling her to him and bringing out the charm.

"Yes. A little boy with your looks but my manners." she said.

"Naw. He'll look like me and act like me but he will act like you in public. And a little girl that will look like you, act like you, but have my charm and charisma." he said.

Nelliel laughed, "Lets hope not otherwise I will feel sorry for any boy that approaches her."

Grimmjow paled a little. Then he growled, possessiveness already rearing over a child that was yet to be a twinkle in his eye.

"If they want to live, they would do well to stay away from any little girls we have." he growled.

Nelliel chuckled and swatted his arm as they caught Kagome looking at them. Kagome quirked a brow at them but continued on her way. She passed by Harribel teasing Toshiro.

"She's very cute isn't she, Captain?" Tia asked him, a look of mischief in her eyes.

"Yes, she is." he answered wihout looking at her.

He was glaring slightly at his lieutenant across the room, who was grinning madly and mouthing at him.

"What do you say Captain?" she asked him.

"To what?" he asked curiously.

"To blonde headed little versions of you." she said and shook her blonde head to emphasize her point.

Toshiro looked at her with a blush staining his cheeks lightly. She was insinuating that she wanted to get in his pants and make babies. She was bold and that was new for him. Rangiku was giving him a thumbs up and was cheering him on. While the male population around him was giving him a sour look and there were several muttered "lucky" going around.

"You don't have to think hard on it Captain. It won't happen now but it will eventually. You can't run from me forever... but as long as you are I will enjoy this pursuit very much." Tia purred and gave him a wink and left him to think about her.

Kagomes' eyes widened and she had to cover her mouth to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape. Poor Toshiro was all she could think as she hurried on down the hall. The poor guy was not going to escape the inevitable. Even she could see it. He was attracted to her but didn't know it and when he did know it he wasn't going to be ready to admit it. But when the time was right it would happen. And right now her priority was with her own heart.

* * *

**AN: Whew! Another chapter finished. Tell me what you think. The next chapter will be a continuation of this one.**


	9. Chapter 8 - Surprise for Kenny

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Bleach.**

**AN: Kenny may be OOC. I try to get him and keep him in character but it is hard for me to. Sorry.**

* * *

**Last Time: Kagomes' eyes widened and she had to cover her mouth to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape. Poor Toshiro was all she could think as she hurried on down the hall. The poor guy was not going to escape the inevitable. Even she could see it. He was attracted to her but didn't know it and when he did know it he wasn't going to be ready to admit it. But when the time was right it would happen. And right now her priority was with her own heart.**

* * *

It was two days after Kagome's very successful House Warming party and she was so asleep in her warm, soft bed; dreaming away of her next door neighbor. Then she was abruptly jerked out of her dream by someone jumping on her bed. If she hadn't recognized the aura she was sure that she would have blasted the intruder out of her room and way down the hall.

So instead she turned over and glared halfheartedly at her son. Shippo had decided to stay with her, instead of returning back with Kouga and the rest of them, as did Sesshomaru. Shippo was up to something, she knew it but couldn't prove it... yet.

"Awake yet?" he asked and stopped jumping.

"No." she growled and buried her head under her pillow.

"Come on, get up! It is almost 8 and you need to get going." he said and bounced harder.

"Why?" came her muffled question.

"Geez, mom, for a goddess you are forgetful. You have a sparring session with Captain Kenpachi in 20 minutes, also Lt. Kotetsu is here. Captain Unohana needs you to come to the Infirmary immediately." he stated.

Kagome jumped out of her bed and straight into her closet. Grabbing one of her old miko garbs, it was different than Kikyo's. Kaede had made it special for her; the design was the same but the colors were different, the top was white but the bottoms were multi-colored, starting at the top with a light blue then blending down into darker shades of blue. She doned the garb and then quickly pulled her hair up into a high pony-tail, braided it, twisted it up into a bun, and pinned it.

Before Shippo could say anything else to her, she was flying out the door and down the stairs. She grabbed Lt. Kotetsu at the door and both disappeared only to reappear at the Infirmary. Lt. Kotetsu showed her to the room where Unohana was and left her there. Unohana was beside a bed, hands aglow, running them over the chest cavity and throat of Captain Ukitake, who was resting quietly.

"Captain Unohana?" Kagome said as she approached.

Unohana turned towards her for just a second. That second was all it took for Kagome to read everything in her eyes, everything she tried to keep hidden. She was worried and scared, she was doing her best to heal what damage there was but it was going to no avail. She was losing him and she loved him, she couldn't lose him, wouldn't lose him. She wouldn't know what to do if she lost him.

"Retsu, let me. I can help him and show you what to do and then you can take over and show the others of Squad 4." Kagome said softly.

"Yes, My Lady." she said, reluctantly and moved to the side.

Kagome took her place by the bedside and then took a deep breath. She felt the healing ki rush to her finger tips and felt the thrum in her veins as it covered her hands, glowing a bright purple. She hovered her hands over Jushiro's form and explained every step of the process. How to summon the strength of the ki needed to heal an illness such as his, how to maintain it once you had it, and how to use the very essence of emotion and soul to fuel the ki.

She helped Unohana begin the process with her own ki and then let her go to use it on him. She supervised for a few moments and explained that with a couple more sessions, he would be healed completely, he would be a picture of perfect health as the disease would be obsolete from his body. Unohana was grateful and thanked her several times before Kagome could leave the hospital.

Just as Kagome was leaving, she ran into captain Soi Fon. Soi Fon had an annoyed look on her face and was cradling an injured arm.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing to fuss about, just a little break." Soi Fon answered.

"Little break, my foot!" Yoruichi said as she sauntered up beside them, "I shattered that arm and you know it."

Soi Fon gave her a half-hearted glare, "So what? I will be perfectly fit as soon as Unohana gets a look and we will be back to training."

"Captain Unohana is currently with Captain Ukitake. His case is very dire at the moment. I can fix you up good as new, if you want." Kagome informed them.

"Sure. The sooner I get back, the sooner I get to tossing you around." Soi Fon said and shot another glare at Yoruichi.

Kagome looked between the two, shrugged her shoulders, and then brought her glowing hands to Soi Fon's arm. She found that both the radius and the ulna were shattered and the tip of her elbow, the olecranon, was cracked. Yoruichi had put some major power behind her strike. Kagome let out a low whistle and set about healing the, more than little, serious break.

"How long do you suppose this will take?" Yoruichi asked Kagome.

"Not long, a couple more minutes at the least." Kagome answered.

"Alright. Then we get back to avoiding Mayuri." Yoruichi stated.

"Why are you avoiding him?" Kagome asked them.

"I don't want to go to the Twelth Division. He wants to use some of Suzumebachi's poison on that little project you gave him." Soi Fon explained. "It is driving him insane."

"Not that he wasn't already insane." Yoruichi murmured under her breath.

"Sesshomaru will be glad to hear it." Kagome said with a grin.

At the house warming she had acquired Sesshomaru's help with getting some respect from Mayuri. She had heard about his poison and antidote making. It was said that he could make very formidible poisons, that only himself or Unohana has been able to make antidotes for. She had decided that she would give him a project... find the antidotes for Sesshomarus' poisons. She knew the antidotes already but he didn't and it seemed to be driving him out of his mind.

"Sesshomaru?" Soi Fon asked, "Is he the man with the long white hair and gold eyes?"

"Yes, why?" Kagome asked and watched her reaction.

"No reason." Soi Fon said, a light blush on her cheeks.

Kagome saw it and decided to keep quiet. The woman was very prideful and strong, to say anything would only serve to get someone hurt.

"Move your fingers." Kagome instructed.

Soi Fon hesitantly moved her fingers. No pain occurred so she closed her hand and quickly opened it. Then she flexed her wrist and twisted it about, checking to see if any pain would come. With a quick whip of her elbow, she found it to be fine.

"All finished, you can both go beat on each other." Kagome said.

Soi Fon did a few quick jabs and a hand stand, checking her arm. Nothing hurt or was hesitant in moving. It was all good and she would be ready to deal out some hurt on Yoruichi and pushing her team to their limits in training.

"Thank you, my lady." Soi Fon said.

"Your welcome. I got to go before Kenpachi begins hunting for me, we have a sparring session that I am late for." Kagome said and took off again.

"Good luck!" Yoruichi called after her.

It took Kagome several minutes to find Squad 11 and the only reason she found it was because she ran past Yachiru. Yachiru was with Ikkaku and they had been sent to find her. They almost hadn't seen her until Kagome was stopping and calling them. Yachiru had happily jumped over to her and began chattering excitedly about Kenny. Ikkaku bowed his head to her and informed her that Kenny had sent him and Yachiru to escort her to Squad 11.

Kagome nodded to them and followed them back to Squad 11 barracks. When she arrived, she walked in on a scene of intense training and blood. The members of this squad were pushing themselves to sheer exhaustion to bring perfection to their skills of hand to hand and swordsmanship. She noticed that they weren't using any bankai, kido, and most weren't using shikai; just their own skill of the blade and their bodies.

It amazed her. Such dedication and skill from this squad of hooligans, though the thirst of battle could be toned down a bit for her tastes but to each his own. She couldn't be prouder of a squad as she was of Squad 11 at the moment. She could tell that they would never give up when it came to defending the Soul Society.

"Lady Kagome, I see you made it." Kenpachi said as he appeared beside her.

Kagome smiled at him. She could feel the impatience rolling off him in waves, as well as excitement. He really wanted to spar with her and was acting very un-Kenny like.

"I am very pleased with Squad 11, Captain. Such ferocity and determination from them. They are a good squad and I can see that it will always bring greatness to the Seretei." Kagome commented.

"Hmn." he said in return.

"Would you like to begin?" she asked him.

"Yes!" he said with that psychotic gleam in his eye.

"Very well." she said and smiled, going into a defensive stance, "I would advise Captain to have your squad members vacate this area."

He barked orders around and had his squad scurrying out of the way; far enough back that they wouldn't be caught in the cross-fire but close enough that they could see every thing that was going on. Yachiru sat on Ikkaku's shoulders and was yelling out for Kenny to do his best. She would have told him to win but even though she was a child, she wasn't stupid.

Kenny pulled his Zanpakto and fell into a stance. Kagome waved her hand through the air, it glowed as her ki rose and solidified to an elegant katana.

"How do you want to do this?" she asked him.

"In this squad we rely soley on pure strength and strength of reiki, skill, and swordsmanship." he said proudly.

"Alright. No goddess powers or spells." she said.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded. Then several things occurred at once. There was an explosion of wild and crazy reiki from Kenny and nothing from Kagome. All of her ki was under wraps to avoid possibly harming him to a devastating extent. He frowned at her as soon as he noticed. She shook her head and held up a hand to keep him silent.

"You said strength of ki. To make this fair I won't be able to use my ki. As a goddess, my ki for fighting is destructive. A single spark of that part of my ki could buckle this whole piece of the Seretei if I don't concentrate to keep it from reacting to the other ki around. I don't recognize all of the different ki signatures here yet and as such I wouldn't be able to concentrate to fight on a single opponent. I will make do with my weapons and physical skills." she explained.

Kenny had a thoughtful look on his face and then nodded. What she said had made perfect sense and right now was not the time for rebuilding a whole section.

"Ready?" she asked and brought her sword up.

There wasn't a response from him but an unspoken one. Then they clashed. His form was wild but precise at the same time. He had control over every twist and movement he made, over every flick and slice of his zanpakto. His dedication to physical training and skill of the blade showed greatly to her.

He was good but... she was better. After all she had trained under Sesshomaru. The skill Kenny had was nothing compared to Sesshomaru; mere child's play in comparison. His control was that of a raw, promising, trainee in comparison.

"Show me what you got!" she yelled at him.

He pushed himself closer to his limits of strength and all, without taking off his eyepatch. He reached up and yanked it off. His reiki jumped to new heights and brushed along her skin; practically whipping against her ki and agitating it. Kagome could feel her ki singing in her veins and felt the rush of adrenaline springing to life as she dodged from the new volley of swings.

She grinned hugely as the large man was giving it his all. She didn't tap into her fighting ki or other goddess powers and still had a great advantage over his. The skill driven into her by Sesshomaru was great and was keeping her from being touched by the blade or hand of the Eleventh captain. His skill was so promising, she wanted to see it all to the very edge of it's extent.

"I know you can give me more. Show me why you are worthy of having the Kenpachi name." she growled out as their crossed blades.

That had caught him off guard. She caught him under the jaw and knocked him across the grounds and through one of the barracks. She wanted him to give his all, show her what made him special. Before she could blink he was on his feet again coming right back at her. Kagome just stood still as he zoomed back to her and she was ready for him.

His ki blazed around him, cratering parts of the ground and sending his squad farther away from them. Yachiru wanted to stay closer but Ikkaku drug her along with them. Kagome could see what he was capable of and that his maniacal mind helped keep it under wraps. He was showing it all to her, his ki was as high as it could go without putting him in danger, and it was enough for her.

"That's enough." she said firmly, "I see what makes you worthy of Kenpachi's name."

She sent him a glare and shut down his ki. As soon as he was calmed, well as calm as he could be, Kenny was asking her questions.

"You know, Kenpachi?" he asked.

"Yep, I knew him, I also knew your mother." she answered.

"My mother?" he rasped out.

"Mhmm, she was beautiful and very nice. You have her eyes." Kagome said.

Kenny looked confused and a tad angry. She had knew his mother? What else did she know about him? Was there a whole list of things she knew about him that he didn't?

"I will tell you all I can at dinner tonight." she said.

"How about drinks with some of my squad and Captain Kyoraku?" he suggested.

"Of course." she replied, "I knew your father well. You should know that you have made him very proud."

Kenny looked at her suspiciously. She knew his mother and father very well? Another item on a list he knew that she had to have on him.

"You knew them both?" he asked.

"Yes. Your mother, Yachiru, was very much like your Lieutenant. She loved you, Kenpachi, and would be so proud of you as well." Kagome said to him.

"Why did she leave?" he asked.

"She didn't. She died right after you were born. No more right now, you have a squad to lead and I have a meeting with General Yamamoto. I will see you tonight." she said, leaving no room for questions.

"Y.. Yes, my lady. 8:00, here." he said.

"Don't worry. I will tell you everything and give you a gift that you are now ready for." she said and disappeared.

She had to leave before she got caught up in revealing who his parents were and before he threw questions at her left and right.

Eight o'clock swiftly came for Kagome and soon she found herself back in the eleventh barracks. She followed the feel of Kenny's ki until she found him. He was with Captain Kyoraku, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Renji, and Yumichika and several bottles of sake. She cleared her throat to make her presence known. Captain Kyoraku and Renji waved her over.

Kenny didn't look over at her while Yachiru waved at her happily and was yelling for her to sit beside her. Ikkaku and Yumichika were looking at her suspiciously. She couldn't blame them either, she was fixing to drop a piece of Kenny's life on him that he didn't know.

She sat down beside Yachiru and the little girl offered her some strawberry pocky. She took a stick and sucked on it, waiting for Kenny to say something. Several seconds passed and he had yet to say anything, let alone acknowledge her existance within the peremiter as he. So she turned her attention to Captain Kyoraku.

"Good evening, Captain." she said to him.

"Wonderful evening, my lady. How are you?" he greeted in turn.

"Just peachy." she said with a half hearted smile.

He offered her a sake cup and she downed it in one drink. She nodded at him and he poured her another. Then he poured himself another.

"Well my lady, what has you joining us this evening?" he asked her and sipped his sake.

"I was invited by him." she said and jerked her head at Kenny, "I have some information and a gift to give him."

"Oh, a gift." he said and turned to Kenny, "Well Kenpachi, are you going to allow the lady to continue hanging or are you going to say something to her?"

Before Kenny even made an attempt to speak, Kagome spoke first.

"I don't care whether or not he leaves me hanging. I have a message to give him and I will give it to him when I feel it is best." she said.

"Well go on and tell him." Kyoraku said and downed his sake, "You came all this way. Why not just go on ahead and say it?"

"Hmm, maybe you're right." she said, "Kenpachi do you want to hear about your parents now?"

Kenny said nothing, didn't even respond to her at all. He looked to be deep in thought and a tad puzzled. Kagome saw it and sighed. She understood; he could learn about his parentage or not, would his life change or not? That would be up to him. Then Kenny finally said something.

"Would it make a difference to know or not?" he asked.

"That would be up to you. How you take the news will be entirely up to you. I can't make any promises that you will like the news, as I am not you. But you can try to make the best of it as you can for any situation. It won't change who you are, your skills, or what you have contributed. It could open doors of understanding for you though. As I said, it will all be up to you." Kagome explained.

Kenny nodded and sat there quietly, thinking. She had a point. It was all up to him to believe what he will and take it as he will. It wouldn't change anything he has already done, the skills he had acquired, or who he was. So what was it that he really had to fear? Nothing!

"Go ahead." he said to her.

"Alright. It may come as a shock about your father. Do you want to hear about your father or mother first?" she replied.

"My father." he answered.

"Ok. He was Kenpachi, the very man you idolized and took the name of. He was your father and is very proud of the way you are. He couldn't wish for a better son." she explained and held her hand up to keep everyone silent as she continued.

They all had questions and if they stayed quiet and listened, they would get the answers to those questions before they were asked.

"He met your mother, Yachiru, and he loved her so much. When she became pregnant with you, he was happy, but there was several uprisings throughout the Seretei and he was gone. She died giving birth to you and he couldn't find you, he looked for years and then by "chance" he found you. He took you in and raised you. He didn't tell you that he was your father because he had been absent from your life for years and believed that it was best that you didn't know, that way you would never hate him while he was alive." she informed him.

She paused for a few seconds and drank her sake. Then poured herself another one and when she was done she spoke again.

"Your mother was a beautiful lady. You have her eyes but almost everything else is Kenpachi. She loved you very much. I know, I was there. I helped her give birth to you. She knew she was dying, I did as well, and she asked me to give you something for her. She was to go on to Heaven, she did too and has watched over you ever since. I raised you for a few months and Buddha told me that I couldn't keep you, there was a path for you to go down that I couldn't be a part of. So I placed you in that orphanage, it was run by a nice lady at the time. As the years passed I watched you and then I sent Kenpachi your way. He never knew that it was me that gave him the incentive to go to your reitsu." Kagome explained.

"Wow! You knew Kenny's mommy?" Yachiru said.

"Yes I did. I even named him." Kagome answered, catching Kenny's attention, "I named you Zeraki, after your mother, Yachiru Zeraki.

Kenny could only stare at her small form. She knew details about his life that he had always wanted to know. Who his father was, his mother, who had named him, who had raised him? It had all been her. She raised him until Buddha told her to leave him, she had named him after his mother, she had been there when he was born, she was the one that sent his father to him. His whole life wouldn't have happened without her!

A whole different level of respect and trust was borne right there. Made from the least likely of people. Who'd have thought Kenpachi Zeraki, Captain of the Eleventh Squad of the Gotei Thirteen, would ever be beholden to a woman? No-one would! His own present peers could hardly believe the calmness and trust emanating off of him was for her. It was almost unsettling for them. Yachiru though was glad for Kenny.

"So you are Kenny's step-mommy." the little girl said.

"How do you figure that?" Ikkaku asked her as everyone stared.

"She took care of Kenny when his mommy died. She wanted to keep him but wasn't allowed to." Yachiru said.

Kagome nodded. She was very perceptive for a child. More so than the men that surrounded her. She also had a point. In a way she was Kenny's mom. She saved him and cared for him and when Buddha said that she couldn't keep him, she placed him in the care of a very loving woman.

"I guess I am in a way. But not really." Kagome said to her, "I still have a gift for him that his mommy left."

Yachiru perked up at hearing that. She clapped her hands and smiled earnestly. She seemed to be more excited than Kenpachi, but then again she was a little girl.

"What is it?" she asked excitedly.

Kagome stood up and moved over to Kenny. She got on her knees in front of him and looked the violent Captain in the eyes. He was doing his best to keep eye contact with her. She was searching him, checking to see if he was ready for the gift from his mother. He is ready and she sees it.

No-one expected what she did. Not even Kenny. Kagome leaned over to him and hugged him tightly. She poured into him the love his mother had wanted to give him herself, the joy she had felt when she first held him, the happiness she had felt when she found she was pregnant, the laughter she had when he would flop around inside of her. The overwhelming fierce protectivness she held whenever she had thought about keeping him safe when she had him, the nervousness she had felt wondering if she would be a good mother to him, all of her worries of how he would grow up, then he felt the sadness and fear of her death. The fear she felt of leaving him alone in the world to fend for himself.

He felt the warmth of her soul. He could feel the sincerity of everything Kagome poured into him. He could feel that his mother had loved him, had wanted him to be happy and healthy. Then he could feel a new emotion coming into him. It was pride. His mother was proud of him and everything he had accomplished and how he had taken care of himself. And then just for a moment; Kagome showed him his mother.

Indeed he did have her eyes, the same depthless black. The same hardness showed within them, the same stubborness as well, and the same sheer determination. He could see her strength in her eyes, another peice she had passed to him. She wasn't tall but she was what he would consider small but mighty. Her hair was as bubblegum pink as Yachiru's but it was a long mass of waves. From what he could tell from that glimpse her disposition wasn't as kind as Yachirus'.

His mother was smiling at him happily and waving at him as well, she was mouthing to him, "My baby." A momentary thought passed through his mind, that maybe this was her now in heaven. Then he shook it away. Just as soon as he shook it away it all stopped. He blinked rapidly and looked over at Kagome, she was breathing heavily. She smiled weakly at him and sat back against a wall.

"What did you see Kenny?" Yachiru asked him.

"How did I see her?" Kenny asked Kagome.

"I allowed you to see her. I am the goddess of soul's, remember. It is very hard to do it but I did just for a few seconds. That is the longest ever I have held it." Kagome explained.

"Why?" he asked.

"Everyone needs to see their mother, even if it is just once. I told you, you had her eyes." Kagome said.

"You saw your mommy, Kenny?" Yachiru asked.

"Yes, I saw her." Kenny answered her this time.

"That must have been exciting." Kyoraku said to him.

At once everyone began to ask about his mother. It was something that was foreign to him and not just him, but the members of his squad that was present. The sake lay forgotten by all but Captain Kyoraku and Renji. Kagome noticed that they were happy for Kenny but at the same time wanted to have a happy ending of their own. She knew what they wanted but to get them to admit it to themselves out loud was going to be a challenge. She would though, she always did.

* * *

**AN: Ta-Dah! Another chapter finished, a really long one at that!**


	10. Chapter 9 - Meddling Again

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Bleach.**

**AN: Kenny may be OOC. I try to get him and keep him in character but it is hard for me to stay on that level on insanity. Sorry.**

**Last Time: At once everyone began to ask about his mother. It was something that was foreign to him and not just him, but the members of his squad that was present. The sake lay forgotten by all but Captain Kyoraku and Renji. Kagome noticed that they were happy for Kenny but at the same time wanted to have a happy ending of their own. She knew what they wanted but to get them to admit it to themselves out loud was going to be a challenge. She would though, she always did.**

* * *

A chuckle escaped Kagome's pink lips. She was on one side of a hospital room and was watching her espada, Tia Harribel, baby Captain Hitsugaya. The poor Captain ended up in the hospital after having a run in with his Lieutenants cooking. He wouldn't hurt her feelings by refusing her cooking, he loved her too much but one of these days it was going to kill him or seriously injure him beyond help.

She had told him so and was scolding him for accepting it when Tia came in. The blonde espada was worried about him. She had heard what had happened and was by his side in a split second. A small halfhearted argument occurred with Tia winning and Toshiro lying in the hospital bed with her pampering him. Kagome wouldn't have to help this couple with anything. She could see it. It wouldn't be long before there would be little blonde Toshiros' running around.

She heard Toshiro tell Tia that Rangiku was going to kill him with a muffin or an omlet someday. Tia laughed and told him that she would cook for him, she was very good at cooking. He sighed happily. Kagome smiled and decided it was her cue to disappear on them. Carefully she backed out of the room, leaving Tia to coddle her ailing Captain. He was in very good hands. As Kagome quietly made her way down the hall, she would peek in the windows to see about some of the new patients. Unohana was in one of the rooms she looked into and then as she continued she saw Lt. Kotetsu in another. They were both working with a new soul she had brought in earlier that morning. She was going to go find Captain Kyoraku and Renji but she was called away to do her work. When she returned with the battered and bruised souls, she was whisked away by finding Toshiro in the hospital as well.

She now had time to go find them. Renji would be easy to find; all she had to do was feel for Byakuya. Renji was sure to be right where his Captain was unless told otherwise. She would find Renji later, she wanted to see Byakuya as well. So first off was to find Captain Kyoraku. He was hard to find. Not only did he conceal his spirit power almost completely but he was always hiding from his Lieutenant.

He was a shirker when it came to his duties but he didn't let himself get out of shape or lose his sharpness of skill. His skill with his zanpakto was virtually flawless. It was kissing perfection and that was what really counted. She didn't blame him one little bit for hiding from the mountains of paperwork that came and went each day. He would much rather sleep in than deal with all of the formality. She understood why Nanao was needed to keep him in-line and why he wanted her as his Lieutenant. Nanao was the perfect one to keep him in-line for the most part.

She understood most about the Captain but didn't understand why he couldn't sum up the courage to tell her he was in love with her. He could defeat Coyote with just his shikai, be in Kenpachi's company without going to the edge of crazy with him, find peaceful solutions to brawls, watch his best friend suffer without showing how much it hurt him to; he could do all of that but he couldn't sum up the courage to tell Nanao that he was in love with her. Strange. He could do so many more dangerous things but that.

Kagome kept her focus on the hiding Captain. Every time Nanao got close to where he was at he would move to another location but Nanao was always hot on his trail. After several minutes Kagome just stopped and let them proceed their cat and mouse game until Captain Kyoraku was right in front of her.

"Lady Kagome." he greeted and was about to flash away.

"Captain, a word." she said with all seriousness.

"Yes my Lady." he said with a sigh.

They had just began to walk away when Nanao came upon them. She had a very annoyed look on her face, her glasses were a bit catty-cornered, and was about to tackle her Captain to avoid losing him again. Kagome was sure that if she had not been standing there Nanao surely would have.

"Captain, I must insist that you return with me and do your paperwork. You still have to make the assignments to the rest of the squad as well. Also there is a Captains meeting in a h..." Nanao was listing out.

"Be quite assured Nanao, he will be doing his work as soon as I am done with him." Kagome said lightly.

Nanao had a worried expression then. She thought that her Captain was in some kind of trouble with Kagome. He wasn't in trouble... far from it. She straightened herself and bowed her head to Kagome and then to her Captain.

"Captain before I part, shall I instruct the squad to do rounds?" she asked him.

"Yes. Do that." he answered and she was gone.

Kagome and Captain Kyoraku walked only a short distance when she rounded on him.

"Captain, when are you going to confess your love to Nanao?" she asked him, "Or are you going to leave her dangling for any man to catch her?"

"Whaaa! You know? Am I that obvious?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah you are. It's like you have a blinking neon sign pointing it out." she answered, "I'm surprised that she hasn't noticed it."

"Why should she?" he asked, a tad of nervousness leaked out.

"Or maybe she has." Kagome mused, purposely messing with him.

He didn't even see the small quirk of her lips as he stiffened. He cleared his thoat, stopped walking, and turned to her.

"My lady, just what is it that you are saying?" he asked.

"Glad to see that you have caught on. Well, Captain, I have heard a few things through the grapevine. I can see how much you mean to each other, it is very well hidden but still very much there. Others haven't seen it and as such Nanao is "free game" for them." she explained smoothly, planting the seeds.

He glared then. Not at anything in particular but just out in space. Annoyed thoughts and angry ones were very apparent in his gaze as well as his posture. Kagome continued her walk as if she hadn't said a single thing to the contrary.

"It won't be long before one of them decides to make a move and then she may be very happy with them." Kagome continued lightly.

She could feel daggers being glared at her but she ignored them. Just maybe that will get him to make a move. Sure it wasn't any of her business but still! She had been in a similar position and it wasn't fun to watch. It would hurt him even more to watch Nanao get married and raise a family with someone else, so she was going to give him a little push.

"So what will you do Captain? Confront her or let her go on another's arm?" she asked suddenly.

There was no answer from Captain Kyoraku and just as she had began to suspect, he was gone and she was standing there alone. He had heard what she had said just at the end and that was just the motivation he needed to get a move on. Kagome smiled and skipped merrily on her way to find Lieutenant Abari. She wasn't sure how to help him but she was going to give him a little nudge, otherwise he would never stand a chance at winning the heart of Rukia from Ichigo. It would ultimately be her choice but Renji needed to be given the chance.

She couldn't wait to see how everything played out when she was through. It was going to be wonderful!

* * *

**AN: It's the end of this chapter. Whooo! Shorter than most but, yeah just wanted it to be. :)**


	11. Chapter 10 - Somethings Up

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Bleach.**

**Last Time: She couldn't wait to see how everything played out when she was through. It was going to be wonderful!**

Renji Abarai turned out to be quite a character once you got him away from Byakuya and got him to open up. Thankfully, well un-thankfully in her opinion, Byakuya was not present when she arrived in the Sixth Division. He was addressing an incident between one of his division and one of the eleventh, such violent people was the eleventh squad.

The lieutenant had been left in charge of the squad for the time being and it was going well, then Kagome showed up and things began to go astray with her questions. Her first question had him spitting out water he had taken a drink of, making him cough.

"So Lieutenant Abarai, when are you going to let Ms. Kuchiki know of your feelings?" she asked bluntly.

After the water had sprayed and his coughing fit had subsided, he began to stutter that he had no idea what she was talking about. Kagome rolled her eyes and huffed. She hated it when people would hide what they felt. She had done it herself and scolded herself for doing it. But now it was even more annoying since they knew she was a goddess, she knew almost everything.

"I'm not blind. Even that idiot, Kurosaki, can probably see it." she huffed.

"I... You think he is an idiot too?" he asked, all too delighted.

"Yeah a bit of one. But don't change the subject!" she said to him.

"I don't believe I would have the courage to tell her while being Captain Kuchikis' lieutenant." he explained.

"I see. Well you may lose something incredible to Kurosaki." she goaded.

A vein ticked in his forehead and then he calmed. He was getting better at controlling that temper of his. It must have been being around Byakuya as long as he had.

"What about you? I'm not blind either. I can see that you have taken a liking to my Captain." he retorted.

A smile graced her lips as a sudden aura came to her senses. It was well concealed, so very well concealed that the Lieutenant didn't feel his captain standing several feet behind them.

"Hmm, I believe Byakuya already knows that I'm crazy about him." she said lightly.

Kagome flipped her hair and turned her dazzling smile right on him. Renji didn't notice her turn to his captain and that was a good thing for Byakuya unknowingly had a little color to his face. Kagome had seen it and sauntered over to him. Renji turned to watch her and saw his Captain, straightened to attention, and began to report and then stopped.

"And as such you will be joining me for dinner. Right Bya-kun?" she asked and blinked her eyes at him.

It took several seconds before he found his mind and then a couple more before he found his voice. Never had that happened before. He was always so much more articulate and precise. Even Abarai noticed that and had a twinkle is his eyes that could tell the whole world that he knew his Captain was falling hard and fast right into love, even he didn't know himself... yet.

"Of course, my Lady." he answered lowly.

"Just Kagome, please." she said and moved closer to him.

Renji noticed that right away and that Byakuya was perfectly comfortable with her proximity. He would have to tell Rukia about this. She would be absolutely thrilled with these events.

"You'll bring Rukia, too?" she asked, earnestly.

"If that is what you wish." he replied.

"It is. I will see you tonight at seven as well Abarai. Seven, ok, Byakuya." she said with another of her dazzling smiles just for him, "I'll go see Rukia now. Bye."

And she was gone. Byakuya had stared after her as she whisked away and Renji watched his captain. It was odd to see him waiver from the stoic figure that he had the utmost respect for this person, obviously lovestruck, for a few minutes before the lapse back into protocal.

"Abarai why are you standing around like a fool?" he asked suddenly.

Renji snapped to attention and took off to do his duties of the Sixth Squadron, leaving Byakuya to muse over the conversation he had overheard.

Concealing his aura was easy enough but getting passed all of the poor eyes of the Rukon District was the hard part. He was a man of wealth and stature and refused to dress himself to any standard but that of his station. He wore a long cloak to help keep him hidden but even then he was sure that these rough and destitute people would even then be able to spot him a mile away. How in the world would all of them be able to get here to meet? Hell if he knew.

He carefully dodged flocks of starving children and hid at the right moments to avoid the violent men of the district. It was a lot of work to remain inconspicious but he finally made it to the meeting point. The old abandoned house on the edges of the Rukon was the perfect place to meet, no one would ever expect them to be there.

Carefully he opened the door and peeked in. Sitting around a worn down and battered table was the rest of the council. All quiet, all waiting for his arrival; as he entered they stood to welcome him and then quickly returned to their seats. It was time to begin. Time to begin another segment of regaining power and they knew just how to do it.

Even if someone has absolute power... How can you make them bend to your will? It was very simple. Even as a goddess, even she had her limits to her own powers, and the only way to harness them as their own was to use brute force. Break her family and you will break her. Overwhelm her all at once with a choice... Her family or the souls that rely on her?

Fools! The lot of them. He wasn't a true part of the Soul Society so he could follow them anywhere and he wasn't the only one. Coyote took a peek over at the silver haired demon that had also noticed the creep of a councilman sneaking about. The man should have just walked through the place, they probably wouldn't have noticed him then.

Silently they conversed with each other. Agreeing on a course of action. Starkk went to find Lilinette, he would need her with him for the mission they were about to recieve; while Sesshomaru went straight to Kagome with what they had found.

Meanwhile in the human world... Ulquiorra had been given a small reprieve to be with Orihime. She had been dragging him around to all of her favorite places of Karakura Town. He learned that she really loved to cook and that some of the ingredients she would purchase were a bit eccentric as well as what she made them into. Honestly the woman couldn't cook but he would never tell her that, he loved her too much. But atleast he could say that it wasn't as bad as the infamous cooking of Rangiku Matsumoto.

Her cooking though was the least of his worries. They were taking a walk in the park close to Orihime's apartment, when they encountered Kagome's family. Ulquiorra noticed right off that they were being followed and he knew for a fact that there weren't any orders for anyone of the Soul Society to do such.

When her family had left to return home; Ulquiorra and Orihime followed the spy that was shadowing them. As soon as the family was back in their shrine was the spy leaving to return to the Seretai. Before he could get anywhere Ulquiorra had already incapacitated him. Immediately they returned the Soul Society, with the spy in-tow. Kagome would want to know about this.

**AN: LAAAAAA! I have finished yet another chapter of TGoS. GOooo Me! LOL. **


End file.
